


Better late than never

by sssssssim



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:20:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 27,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24844453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sssssssim/pseuds/sssssssim
Summary: When Sam left for Atlantis, Daniel had already started falling in love with her.
Relationships: Samantha "Sam" Carter/Daniel Jackson
Comments: 9
Kudos: 40





	Better late than never

**Author's Note:**

> During quarantine, I rewatched all of Stargate. So this is a Sam/Daniel story, in the SG1 setting. It also involves some SGA and a little SGU. It's also a slow burn with no real plot, little angst, little more fluff, a dog, nonsense. The usual. Added some to the SGA ending. Fixed the SGU ending. After the rewatch, I needed to get it out of my system. And please, keep in mind that I didn't actually ship this the first time around. So this was... new.

After their first mission without Vala, it was decided that they all deserved a little break. He doesn’t know how that translated to pizza and beer at Sam’s house, but that’s where Daniel found himself.

Late at night, having eaten too much pizza, still drinking beer even though he should have stopped a bottle ago. And, they were all ganking up on him, but Sam started it.

‘So, Daniel. On a scale of one to heartbroken, how hard did you take Vala leaving with Torin?’

Both Cam and Teal’c said something afterward, but Daniel didn’t pay too much attention, he was still trying to get over the ‘heartbroken’ part.

‘I’m not heartbroken.’

She threw him a look. Actually, they all did, and it was pretty pitiful. 

‘I’m not heartbroken.’, Daniel insisted. ‘I never… it wasn’t like that with Vala.’

‘Really?’, Cam asked, obnoxiously so.

Daniel rolled his eyes. ‘Look, after all the soulsearching she’s been doing on Earth, Vala wants to be loved. For real. She wasn’t going to get that here.’

Sam narrowed her eyes. ‘You’re actually serious.’

‘You know, Sam’, he snorted, ‘I don’t actually lie that often. Seriously. She’ll have a good life with Torin. And I’ll miss her, cause I got used to the crazy, but I’m happy for her.’

‘Hm.’, Teal’c said, making everyone turn to him. He didn’t offer anything else.

‘You haven’t told Vala who she hooked up with in the Prometheus timeline.’, Daniel pointed out. He had always been curious, if it had been him. He didn’t think so, but maybe after a few years he would have cracked.

Teal’c smiled. ‘Nobody on the Prometheus got together in a romantic manner.’

Cam snorted. ‘And why didn’t you tell her that?’

Teal’c just kept smiling.

‘Man, your love lives suck.’, Cam went on with feeling.

Daniel started laughing. It was true, but… ‘At least in this reality, Sam’s not married to McKay.’

She threw a pillow at his head, but Daniel managed to save his beer.

‘We were divorced!’

‘Right, in the reality where Landry was president. But not in the other one.’

Her jaw dropped. ‘What other one?’

‘Remember that time when we had a bunch of alternate universe SG1s? I have a list.’

‘What list?’, she narrowed her eyes.

He grinned. ‘Well, let’s see. You were married to McKay in one of them. Three of them, you were with Jack.’

Daniel paused, with purpose, to see her reaction. All Sam did was roll her eyes.

‘I always wondered about that.’, Cam admitted, clearly waiting for an answer.

When Sam didn’t give any, Daniel answered. ‘The bet about whether or not Sam and Jack will get together is the longest running one in the SGC, Walter has an actual ledger.’

She huffed, annoyed, but still didn’t say anything.

‘The opportunity for it has come and gone.’, Teal’c said, knowingly.

‘Yes, thank you, Teal’c!’, she grinned. ‘I knew there was a reason I liked you.’

‘Okay, no O’Neill.’, Cam shrugged. ‘Who else?’

‘You and Sam were together in one.’, Daniel told him. ‘There was Martouf a few times, Pete two or three, me four times and-’

‘Four?’, Sam all but yelled, incredulity clear.

Daniel shrugged at her. ‘I like to think I’m better than McKay.’

She laughed at that, rolling her eyes all the while.

‘Can we please talk about something else? Let’s talk, for example, about Cam’s love life.’

With that, they moved the discussion to other areas. Daniel was still thinking about it, though. Not necessarily about the idea of him and Sam being together, but about Sam. 

Somehow, she was standing right next to him, and Daniel missed her.

He really should have stopped drinking.

𝚲

He didn’t stop drinking, so that’s why, after Cam and Teal’c left, he stayed on Sam’s couch.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve seen you drunk.’, she teased him as she brought him a pillow and a blanket.

‘I’m not drunk. Not… completely. I can still think straight.’

‘Oh yeah? And what is it that you’re thinking about?’

He took a deep breath and motioned for her to sit down on the couch next to him. She did so, clearly still amused.

‘I miss you.’, Daniel said truthfully.

Sam’s expression instantly turned serious, but she frowned at him. ‘I’m right here, Daniel.’

‘I know, yes, but… I wasn’t here. I died.’

‘A few times.’, she pointed out.

Daniel flinched. ‘I died and I wasn’t here for a lot of things that happened in your life. You mourned me, you were alone on the Pegasus, your father died. I know something must have happened between you and Jack to make you… move on. And there was Pete, which you never really talk about and...’

Sam didn’t deny it. ‘And I transferred to Area 51, and you got tortured by a Replicator with my face.’

Slowly, Daniel nodded. ‘We used to hang out a lot more. And I know that because of what happened, we didn’t get the time to do it. But it’s… we don’t…’

‘I know what you mean.’, Sam said when he didn’t go on. ‘I get it.’

Then, she grinned, playfully so. ‘You miss me!’

Daniel rolled his eyes. ‘Don’t let it get to your head.’

‘Too late.’, came the cheerful response.

‘You know, it would be polite to -’

She cut him off with a hug.

Daniel yelped, out loud, which was only slightly embarrassing. And the position was slightly awkward, because they were sitting side by side on the couch.

But it was… nice. And when Daniel wrapped an arm around her shoulders, he surprised himself by not stopping with just a gentle touch. He wrapped both arms around her, hugging her tightly. Very tightly. And he pushed their cheeks together.

It was terribly nice. He was drunk, and he realized it, so he stopped the hug.

‘I may be drunk.’, Daniel admitted.

Sam chuckled and got up.

‘Get some rest, you’re a mess.’

‘Yeah, okay. I wasn’t lying, though.’

‘I know.’, she smiled at him, ruffling his hair. ‘Good night.’

He returned the sentiment and lied down, hugging the pillow to his chest and covering his legs with the blanket. He passed out immediately.

𝚲

Three days later, Sam all but dragged him to the mess hall for lunch. Well, it was closer to dinner than lunch, but Daniel had skipped the past couple of meals, immersed in his work.

They haven’t done this in a long, long while, and Daniel realized that it was happening because of his drunken admittance. And because Sam was making an effort.

It was a nice and easy half an hour, but after they were done with their food and moved on to jello, Sam grew kind of serious.

‘I have a question about something you said the other night. I mean, I’m not sure you remember what-’

‘I wasn’t that drunk.’, he pulled a face. ‘I remember all of it.’

‘Well you said that something must have happened between Jack and I. I was wondering how you figured that out.’

Daniel could have gone on a very long spiel about Sam and Jack, but she probably didn’t need to hear all that, so he narrowed it down to the basics.

‘I know you. I’ve known the both of you for ten years, Sam. All this time, you two were always the… I’ve always seen that there was something strong, between you two, that you needed to hide.’ He shrugged. ‘Something changed, at one point, I’m guessing when you were stuck on the Prometheus. Because a little after that, you weren’t… hiding anymore. And then came Pete.’

Sam took a deep breath, but she nodded.

‘When I was trapped on the Prometheus’, she lowered her voice, ‘I had hallucinations. Teal’c kept me awake, you helped me figure out what the cloud actually was. My dad, he helped me accept the fact that I deserved better.’

‘Than Jack?’, Daniel frowned, because that didn’t sound like something Sam would actually think.

She shook her head. ‘Better than pinning for something that will never happen.’

That made a lot more sense, so Daniel nodded in understanding. ‘You didn’t see Jack?’

‘I did. It gave me some closure, at least for the moment.’

‘For the moment?’, he frowned.

Sam looked away, down at the table, where she was fidgeting with a spoon. ‘I was going to take one last shot at it, when I broke up with Pete. But… that didn’t work out. And in a way, I’m glad it didn’t.’

‘How so?’

Sam tilted her head, lowering her voice even more. ‘I don’t think we would have actually managed to… you know, be together. Because one of us would have had to quit the military, and it’s pretty obvious neither one of us wants that. So everything that would have followed, it would have been based on resentment.’

She was absolutely right, Daniel thought. But he had one last question.

‘But you’re still not seeing anyone.’

Sam chuckled at that. ‘I have come to terms with the idea that if I ever end up dating anyone again, it’s going to be someone involved, one way or another, with the SGC.’

Daniel nodded at that, understanding what she was saying beyond that statement.

‘I’m not in any rush to start looking.’, she went on. ‘Actually, that sounds like… it’ll be tiresome.’

He laughed at that.

‘What about you?’, Sam went on gently.

Daniel took a moment to gather his thoughts. Actually, ever since Vala left, he had been thinking about it pretty extensively. It was difficult to put into words, though. But Sam was looking at him with a very soft and understanding look, and she did just tell him a lot of personal things.

‘Beyond the lack of time and lack of opportunities, for the longest time the thought of seeing someone brought me only pain and guilt. But Vala actually… she did help me come to terms with some things. It was unintentional’, he snorted, ‘but I think I’ve gotten to a point where I’d be okay with… seeing someone without feeling guilt about Sha’re.’

‘That’s good, Daniel.’, Sam smiled widely.

‘Yeah, well.’, he pulled a face. ‘Tiresome, yes.’

They both laughed at that.

‘Colonel Carter to the Gate Room, please.’, came Walter’s voice over the base intercom.

Sam was quick to get up and say a rushed goodbye, but she squeezed Daniel’s shoulder before she left, and she kissed his cheek.

It was odd, but… not totally unwelcomed.

𝚲

They went off world two days later. P2X-259 was a pretty boring planet, Daniel had to admit. Sandy and warm, they were all sweating and pretty miserable.

But they found a temple, close to a small settlement, that was filled with Ancient carvings. The first line Daniel’s eyes fell upon spoke of Atlantis, so they had to stay.

The locals were nonthreatening. While it was an Azgard protected planet, they haven’t intervened in their development or beliefs. So they spoke a dialect of Ancient Greek and worshiped the three main gods: Zeus, Poseidon and Hades. 

They didn’t mind the weird travelers milling around in the temple, because it wasn’t one for their main deities. It was just a relic of what was before them.

But they also didn’t care for trade or exchange of information. They were pretty adamant about it, to the point where even Daniel stopped trying.

So he made camp at the temple, armed with a laptop, a small generator and a few lights that Sam was nice enough to request for him.

The rest of the team were in and out. Mostly, they were sunbathing outside, coming into the temple only for food and a spot of shade. As usual, Sam was the only one who took the time to ask him about the things he was reading.

It was actually quite interesting, a short history of the Ancients. It wasn’t anything major that they didn’t know, but there were small pieces of information that might give the Atlantis expedition a hint of where to look for something interesting.

Of course, Daniel got so wrapped up in the translations, he lost track of time. But Cam was nice enough to drag him out for dinner and the scheduled check in with Landry.

He ate quickly, gave an even quicker statement to Landry. It didn’t take much for the General to give them the go to stay on the planet for another day.

‘Thank you, sir.’, Daniel said over the radio, looking wearily at the way his team was glaring. Well, the guys were glaring, Sam was just pouting.

‘Uhm. I can handle this alone, sir. The planet’s safe, there’s no real reason for the rest of the team to… sweat alongside me.’

Landry snorted. ‘One of them will stay behind with you, and you’ll check in twice a day. I’ll let you choose who comes home and who stays. Landry out.’

Cam was quick to yell ‘Not it!’. As a response, Sam and Teal’c engaged in a silent staring contest.

‘I’ll stay’, Sam said slowly, ‘if you’ll owe me one.’

‘One of what?’, Teal’c raised an eyebrow.

She grinned. ‘Yet to be determined.’

It took a few moments, but Teal’c nodded and got up. ‘We bid you goodnight.’

‘Have fun, you too!’, Cam teased.

And they were off, incredibly quick.

Daniel turned to Sam. ‘Thanks.’

She snorted. ‘You owe me one too.’

‘One what?’

‘Yet to be determined.’

The teasing was nice, and he had missed it.

‘I’m going to bed.’, Sam said next. ‘I’ll set up camp in the temple, but feel free to keep working. Just wake me up before you pass out.’

‘I knew there was a reason I liked you.’, Daniel grinned at her, very thankful.

‘Oh, so it wasn’t just my good looks?’

Daniel laughed really loud at that, as they made their way back inside of the temple.

𝚲

Sam fell asleep quickly, despite the bright lights in the temple and the sounds of Daniel hitting the keyboard.

He let her sleep, in the sense that he worked the night away. Still, he was only human, and a little while after the sun came up, he was about to pass out. So he woke Sam up, made her coffee and they had breakfast together.

Then, Daniel took Sam’s place and slept for a few hours. It was her turn to wake him up with coffee and food.

They spent the next 18 hours in the temple. Daniel translated every carving, Sam working on her own laptop. She was working on final touches for the Midway station, apparently.

So they kept working side by side, sharing a space and easy conversation every now and then, when they both needed a break.

At the end of it, Daniel thought this was the absolute best mission he had ever gone on. Nothing happened. Nothing good, nothing bad, not even the Ancient carvings were that interesting.

He just got to do what he liked best, and hung out with Sam. It had been absolutely perfect.

She probably agreed, considering that before they stepped through the gate to go home, she hugged him and said they were going back to the real world.

𝚲

When he was done with the translation and the report, it was his turn to drag Sam out for dinner. But this time, they didn’t go to the mess hall, but to O'Malley's.

They put on their civilian clothes and Sam let down her hair. It was longer, now, and he had never seen it out of a pony or braided tail.

‘You look nice.’, he said out loud, not managing to keep himself from grabbing a hold onto a strand of her hair. It was very soft.

She smiled, a tiny bit of color flushing her cheeks. ‘Don’t get rowdy on me, now.’

He snorted at that. ‘I won’t, but come on. I’m still buying you dinner.’

It was a Friday night, so the place was packed. They only managed to find two chairs at the bar, but it didn’t stop them from ordering their usual steak and fries.

They spent an hour talking and joking about easy things. Basically, they just gossipped about the people on base. But Sam did ask about his findings in the translations from P2X-259.

‘It really wasn’t much, but…’, he lowered his voice, aware that they were in public. ‘My guess is that whoever put those carvings there, they’ve been to Atlantis. It’s not vital information, it’s not the location of a ZPM or another secret weapons platform. It’s a pool.’

Sam’s eyes grew wide at that, and Daniel couldn’t help but get a little excited as he went on.

‘They have a pool, as large as a lake. And there’s a room like a kindergarten, designed to teach children basic maths and physics and chemistry. Which, you know, Ancient basic stuff is a little more advanced than ours. There’s an actual gym, with machines and hologram programs designed to replicate outdoor conditions, that’d be great for training exercises. There’s a library, an actual library, with printed books, and they’re all fictional. Ancient stories!’

‘That’s amazing.’, Sam exclaimed. ‘But I don’t know how much-’

‘I know, Elizabeth has bigger fish to fry. I still sent them a report, just in case they wanna… go for a swim.’

She chuckled at that, shaking her head in amusement.

‘So how’s the Midway coming up?’, Daniel asked.

‘Almost there.’, she smiled widely, excitement evident. ‘The actual construction will be done by next week, and Doctor Lee and I will be heading out to install all programs and protocols and-’

‘You’re going to space.’, he cut her off. ‘Actual space, not on a ship.’

‘Yup. I’ll admit, I’m a tiny bit excited.’

Daniel snorted. ‘Tiny bit, sure.’

She just kept grinning, innocently so.

‘Hey, have you spoken to Mitchell lately?’, Daniel asked, smile falling off his face. ‘Or Teal’c?’

Sam grew serious, too, nodding. ‘I knew this wasn’t just a dinner.’

‘Don’t be mean.’, Daniel pouted.

‘Teal’c is going back to his people, I’m going to be on Midway for a few weeks. Cam started looking for replacements for SG1.’

‘Yeah. Looks like the band’s breaking up.’

‘I really hope not.’, Sam said gently. ‘Just because we won’t be working so closely together doesn’t mean we have to-’

‘Good, so we’re on the same page.’, Daniel cut her off.

He grabbed her hand in a fit of bravery, and she was quick to wrap her fingers around his.

‘After all that we’ve been through together’, Sam said around a smile, ‘I don’t think there’s anything that can actually keep us away from each other.’

‘Yeah.’, Daniel nodded. ‘And if there is, I sure as hell am gonna fight it.’

‘Can I get you anything else?’, the bartender rudely interrupted. ‘Another drink? A condom? A cab?’

‘No, thank you.’, Sam glared at him. ‘The check will do. Don’t include a tip.’

Fighting back the awkwardness of it, Daniel laughed. He also kissed her fingers before letting go of her hand and when they parted ways and went home, Sam hugged him very tightly and thanked him for dinner and everything else.

He realized that things will be changing, again. But he was determined to do everything in his power to keep the people he loved as close as they could be. In space or not, Sam was still one of his best friends, a member of his found family. He wasn’t going to give up on her so easily.

𝚲

Sam texted him, very late that night, but he wasn’t asleep yet. She explained that every day, an hour before going into work, she stopped at a coffee shop in town. Daniel was offered an open invitation, if he ever had the time and was in a mood to join her.

From the next morning on, if their shifts matched, Daniel always went to the coffee shop.

It wasn’t much, an hour spent together over mediocre coffee, but it was nice. They talked about whatever work they needed to do that day, and what they watched on tv the night before.

They had two weeks of this status quo, before Sam had to leave for Midway.

In that time, Daniel got… a lot closer to Sam. He genuinely didn’t think he could feel more strongly for her, but it happened.

They got more comfortable around each other, Daniel didn’t feel any awkwardness between them, anymore, not like the one he felt since the moment he came back from the dead.

And it was more than that. It took him awhile to figure out what it was and what it meant, but one morning, he did.

Sam was wearing a dress. It was flowery, flowy, and worked surprisingly well with the jeans jacket she had on top. Daniel had always been aware of how beautiful she was, that wasn’t what sparked his epiphany.

But because she looked so beautiful that day, the guy at the coffee shop, who always smiled at her, managed to gather the courage to ask her out. Sam was polite when she turned him down and didn’t hesitate in doing so.

Daniel's epiphany came from the absolutely insane spike of jealousy he felt in his chest.

That made him realize that as much as he always thought of Sam like his best friend and, sometimes, his sister, it was all gone now. Well, the love was still there, still strong and bound to send him to the end of the galaxy for her, but it had changed in nature.

He wasn’t completely in love with Sam. Not yet, anyway. But he was sure that, given time, he’ll get there.

𝚲

Daniel didn’t say anything to her.

He still had to wrap his mind and his heart around it, and beyond anything else, he knew Sam, so he knew that she didn’t see him in the same way.

So he kept his mouth shut, kept having coffee with her every morning, even on days when he wasn’t supposed to be on base so early.

And they had dinner before she left for Midway. It was her idea, but Daniel was the one to suggest something a little fancier than O'Malley's.

It was very easy, even if the waiter kept asking if they wanted wine to go with their meal and if they wanted to share a desert.

They overstayed their welcome at the restaurant, and they still weren’t ready for the night to end. So Daniel walked Sam home.

‘I’ll be back before you know it from Midway!’, she said cheerfully, hugging him tightly and pushing their cheeks together.

That turned out to be a big fat lie.

𝚲

Elizabeth Weir died. Twice, once as a human and once as a Replicator.

Sam was on Atlantis, and the SGC was swarming with IOD members. Daniel heard a lot of rumors, and they all pointed to Colonel Carter leading the Atlantis expedition.

He didn’t see her when she gated back to Earth, but Daniel did wait for her outside of the conference room, after she finished the debriefing.

Sam came out looking angry. Daniel took one look at her and offered to take her out of there.

20 minutes later, they were in a booth in O’Malley’s, beers in front of them.

It took awhile, but Sam told him everything. The cliffnotes, but everything that happened on Midway and Atlantis.

The reason why she was angry was because the IOA chose to put her in charge of the Atlantis expedition in order to control it further.

‘They actually think that I am going to do their bidding. Just roll over, say yes because, I mean, it’s Atlantis! And once I’m there, do whatever they want.’

‘Well you’re not going to do that, obviously.’

‘Of course I’m not!’

‘But you are going to go to Atlantis.’

Immediately after he said that, Sam’s anger went away. ‘Damn it.’ she whispered.

Daniel smiled at her. ‘There’s no way in hell you’re not going to Atlantis.’

‘But…’, she took a shaky breath. ‘Honestly, there’s not… not a lot keeping me here. I see my brother once a year, if that. The work I do here, the rest of the team can probably handle it.’

‘And you’re going to do great work on Atlantis.’, Daniel said with certainty. ‘You’re the best for the job, and not because the IOA suddenly decided they wanted someone military at the hems. But because you understand what going offworld truly means. And you understand how important Atlantis is.’

‘But we were just getting better.’, Sam looked at him with wide eyes.

Daniel’s heart was breaking, a little, but he pushed it down and ignored it. Instead, he smiled widely at Sam and grabbed her hands.

‘And we’ll keep getting better. I know Atlantis sends weekly info packages. And with McKay’s compression program, you'd better send me emails. Or video messages. And I sure as hell will answer.’

She didn’t look convinced.

‘Sam? You deserve this. And whatever you have or don’t have waiting for you here, we’ll still be here.’

It took a few moments of Sam squeezing Daniel’s fingers very tightly, but she did eventually relax. She let out a deep breath and relaxed in her seat, taking her hands away.

‘I’m going to Atlantis.’

‘Yeah, you are.’, Daniel grinned. ‘Think you’ll be able to handle McKay?’

She groaned, very dramatically, which made him snicker.

‘Sheppard seemed nice the last time I saw him.’

‘Yeah, he is.’, she nodded. ‘Good at his job, too, if the reports I’ve been reading are anything to go by.’

‘I’m sure you’ll make new friends.’

She tilted her head. ‘I’m sure everyone will be very apprehensive of whoever tries to take Weir’s place.’

Daniel nodded at that. ‘You won’t try to take her place. You’ll just try to do her job. Which, I’m willing to bet you’re going to get major points for that.’

Sam took a deep breath, only half agreeing.

‘If it wasn’t you, it would have been Woolsey.’, Daniel pointed out. ‘Which is, by far, the worst idea in the Universe.’

‘Oh, yeah.’, Sam was quick to nod. ‘That would be a disaster.’

They sat in silence for a little while, sipping their beers. Sam was clearly still lost in thought.

Sighing deeply, Daniel got up and made his way to Sam’s side of the table, sitting down next to her. Not only that, but he pressed their sides together and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

‘You deserve to go to Atlantis, and you deserve to be in charge of it. Plus, you want it.’

She took a deep, shaky breath. ‘Yeah, I do. I really do.’

‘When do you leave?’

‘A week from now.’

Daniel smiled. ‘So that gives us seven coffees and, well, maybe not seven, but I’ll say at least two dinners. Maybe some lunches in the cafeteria, too.’

Sam turned her head to look at him, and she smiled gently.

‘You know, I don’t think I’ve ever told you this, but… You, Daniel Jackson, you are actually insane.’

‘Am I?’, he asked innocently.

‘Absolutely fucking crazy.’, Sam whispered.

Daniel, trying his hardest not to burst into laughter, just shrugged at that and agreed with her.

After a few moments, she pulled away, forcing Daniel to pull his arm back. But she still kept their legs pressed together.

‘So. Video messages?’

Daniel grinned, and they went on to talk about lighter topics, such as the amount of times McKay was going to hit on her, how Sheppard will find a way to go against her orders and they made predictions on how long it will take Sam to find herself on a wraith ship.

𝚲

The next week, Sam and Daniel met at the coffee shop six times. Three times, they had a short lunch in the SGC cafeteria and twice, they went out for dinner - once at O’Malley’s and once at Sam’s place, ordering pizza.

On the day Sam was scheduled to gate to Atlantis, they met very early in the morning at the coffee shop. The sun wasn’t even up yet.

Daniel wasn’t on shift that day, but he hadn’t gone home the night before. He knew he wasn’t going to be able to sleep, so he spent the night in his office, cataloguing the endless list of artifacts that piled up in the past ten years.

He looked rough, when he met her, and she looked lovely, dressed to impress in her fancy uniform. But her eyes were glassy and she was looking at him in a very regretful way.

‘Screw it.’, Daniel said, grabbing her hand. ‘I’ve got a better idea, come on.’

Wordlessly, they got into his car and Daniel drove them to the edge of town, to the short place where SGC didn’t spread out to. He parked the car on the side of the road and got out, taking his coffee and climbing on the hood. The sun was just starting to come up, painting the sky in beautiful colors.

Sam didn’t join him up on the car, but she did lean against it, by his side. She was definitely going to start crying, so he wrapped his arm around her waist, and she was quick to lean into him.

‘So. How did Jack handle the goodbye?’

She snorted. ‘As usual, he refused to say it. He just told me to go have fun and he promised that when I come back on leave, he’ll take me fishing.’

‘Of course he will.’, Daniel couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

‘General Landry said he wants to talk to me before I leave, Cam will be there, and Teal’c said he’ll stop by to say goodbye.’

He hummed, taking a sip of his coffee.

‘That just leaves you.’, Sam pointed out.

He didn’t answer in any way, just held her tighter.

For a while, they were silent. They drank their coffees and watched the sunrise together.

In light of his recent epiphany, Daniel was hurting, knowing that there was a chance he wasn’t going to ever see Sam again, and if he did, it was going to take a long while. But he took strength from the knowledge that Atlantis will be good for her.

‘I’ll drive you to the SGC.’, he said after both of their coffees were gone. ‘But then I’m gonna head home.’

Sam took a deep breath before moving. She turned around and faced him, getting between his legs and hugging him, very tightly. She pushed her face in the crook of his neck and she grabbed the shirt on his back.

‘Please don’t start crying.’, Daniel whispered, wrapping his arms around her waist. ‘Then I’ll start crying and it won’t be pretty.’

She chuckled at that, but it was weak. ‘The last time I said goodbye to you, I was too late. And I was angry, because there were things I never said to you.’

‘Sam’, he cut her off. ‘I heard you.’

Oh, she definitely started crying at that.

‘I heard all of you, before I ascended. You helped me ascend, your words and your… your love, it made me realize that I deserved it. Well, it took some other realizations, too, but…’

He chuckled, a little, trying to play it down.

‘It took me a while to remember what you said, but I do remember it now.’

‘I still haven’t said it.’, Sam whispered against his neck.

Daniel kissed her cheek. ‘I know it anyway.’

She nodded, pulling away, a little, just enough to be able to look him in the eyes.

‘I’m not going to disappear on you. I… I brought a video camera. It’s tiny and red and it’s designed for filming yourself.’

He laughed at that, really loud. ‘Really?’

‘Yeah! I can’t promise I’ll send something every week, but I can promise that I’ll try.’

‘And I promise that I’ll answer.’, Daniel nodded strongly. ‘Everything you send my way, I’ll answer.’

Sam let go of him, wiped the tears off her face and took a few deep breaths, calming herself. They shared another smile, but without another word, they got back in the car and Daniel drove them to base.

He didn’t get out after he parked, and she didn’t either.

Sam was going to start crying, again. But she didn’t. Instead, she grabbed a hold of Daniel’s hand and smiled at him.

‘I’m not saying goodbye.’, she dared him to argue.

He didn’t. Instead, he kissed her knuckles.

‘See you later, Sam.’

Before she got out of the car, she gave him a very quick kiss on the cheek.

Daniel watched her make her way inside of the SGC. He was sure that halfway through, she started crying again. But she didn’t look back, and he was just as sure that it was for her benefit, more than his.

He went home and slept the day away. When he woke up, he didn’t remember what he dreamt of, but Daniel thought it was probably for the better.

𝚲

The next weeks were… surprisingly calm.

Every morning, Daniel came to work at a decent hour. He stayed in his office, slowly but surely working on research and inventory for all the artifacts the SGC had gathered over the years. Sometimes, people came in, asked him about very specific things, things that he had encountered before, that he might know about and could help them in present missions.

He left work at a decent hour, managed to cook some nights, kept his house clean, even did a few small repairs here and there. 

Landry had a conversation with him, in which he told Daniel that he wasn’t pulled out of active duty. But on account of the amount of things he had been through since he joined SGC, the amount of sacrifices he made, Landry thought he deserved a break. So he wasn’t going to assign him to any SG team, wasn’t going to order him to go on missions, but was going to let Daniel go on any mission he wanted.

For now, Daniel wanted to stay on Earth, because he felt absolutely exhausted. Not because he had a few sleepless nights, but because he had a few stressful past years.

While the work he was doing now was utterly boring, compared to going offworld, this was what he liked to do best, actually. Sit in a dark office and do research about whatever artifact was on his desk.

Sure, he missed SG1, and some days, he missed the action. He knew that, eventually, the office would become  _ too  _ boring and he will be itching to go through the gate again. But until that happened, he had work to do.

And he was okay with it.

It also kept himself from thinking about how much he missed Sam. That was good, too.

𝚲

His office phone started ringing late one afternoon, which didn’t happen often these days. It was Walter.

‘You have a few messages from Atlantis, Doctor Jackson. I’ve uploaded them on your personal hard drive.’

‘What sort of messages?’, he frowned.

There was a pause. ‘Video ones, sir. I wasn’t curious enough to check.’

Daniel snorted, thanked the man and hung up. It was a little over two weeks since Sam left, and he hadn’t heard anything about her since.

There were two video messages.

The first one he opened was from McKay and Zelenka. The two bickered between them more than they spoke to Daniel, but they thanked him politely for the information gathered from P2X-259, they just got a spare moment to look it over. McKay said most of it was useless to them, at the moment, but Zelenka promised he’ll look into the pool option, cause “lord knows we need more leisure activities”.

The second video was longer, almost five minutes, and it was from Sam. She was in her quarters, sitting at a desk and putting her camera on the stack of reports she had to go through.

She looked good. She was smiling softly, wearing pajamas. He could tell she was tired, but she smiled, a lot, as she brought him up to date.

People weren’t fast to welcome her to take Weir’s place, but most of them were understanding and helpful. Sheppard’s team was a handful, apparently, but she grinned while she told him about them. Ronan reminded her of a very rough version of Teal’c and Teyla reminded her of Janet, a little. McKey apparently was seeing someone, which brought Sam a lot of relief.

There was a lot of work to do in Atlantis, and the situations she had to take decisions about were all new, nothing like what she encountered in the Milky Way. 

But Sam liked Atlantis. At the end of the video, she spoke about the city, how incredible it was. She was living in a brilliant work of technology and that part, she loved the most.

‘You would love it here, too.’, Sam smiled, looking into the camera for the first time. ‘You would lock yourself up in an archive room and not come out for a week straight. And the view from the piers… It’s just water, as far as the eye can see, but it’s beautiful. It makes me feel incredibly small.’

She shook her head. ‘I miss Earth, but it’s just a little. I… don’t really have time to do more than that.’

Then, Sam sighed. She grabbed the camera and made her way across the room, where there was a window. It was nighttime, but Daniel could make out the city lights and it was… pretty damn breathtaking.

‘Being in charge does have its perks.’, Sam said sweetly.

She then moved, pushing her back to the window, angling the camera to frame her face, but he could still see the city behind her.

‘I hope this video gets to you and I hope it finds you well. I, uh…’, she grinned. ‘I look forward to hearing back from you. Bye, Daniel.’

The video cut off and Daniel let out a breath he hadn’t been aware he was holding. He watched the video three more times, then he called Walter.

‘If I were to want to send a video message to Atlantis, how would I go around that?’

Walter snorted and spoke with clear amusement. ‘Just send it my way, sir. We have a scheduled weekly information dump to Atlantis every Tuesday night.’

‘Okay, but uh - what I meant was that it wouldn’t be anything… official.’

‘Sir’, Walter sounded mocking, ‘both Colonel Carter and General Landry authorized you to send whatever sort of official or unofficial messages you wish to Atlantis.’

‘Right.’, Daniel said slowly, feeling just a little embarrassed. ‘Thank you, I’ll be sure to send it your way before Tuesday.’

‘No problem, sir. Happy to help.’

Somehow, Walter managed to make those words sound mocking, so Daniel hung up on him.

And started googling video cameras.

𝚲

The first video he sent Sam was three minutes long. He filmed it at his kitchen table, with a beer in his hand and pajamas on. He just gave her a short update, on how boring and calm his life was now, and how much he enjoyed it.

He also spoke a little about what pieces of SGC gossip reached his ear, but he spent a longer time encouraging her. He was absolutely certain that she will get through to Ronan and he advised her to just ignore everything McKay says that isn’t work related.

At the end, he smiled and looked straight into the camera. ‘I hope this video finds you well and I hope we’ll drop the polite pleasantries in the next videos. I do hope they’ll be more of those, when you have the time. Cause I got a camera, too.’

He grinned and winked at her. ‘Bye, Sam.’

𝚲

She started her next video with ‘Without any polite pleasantries, I just wanna say that I’m going to kill Ronan Dex.’

Then, she went on and on, talking quick and breathlessly, about Ronan, and Sheppard, and Zeleka and Keller and on and on and on, for ten minutes straight. There was also another video, five minutes filmed on another day, where she spoke about Teyla being pregnant.

Sam ended the video with ‘See you next week, Daniel.’

𝚲

Over the next months, Sam and Daniel kept a constant flow of communication.

Each week, they sent a few videos to the other one. Sometimes they were short videos, sometimes they were longer, if something really interesting or important happened.

Sam always filmed in her quarters, Daniel almost always filmed in his kitchen. It was always night, and they always had pajamas on.

It became a routine, for both of them, but still, over the next months, some of the videos stood out. 

𝚲

There was a video in which Sam did nothing but cry. There was a contagion, it Atlantis, that made everyone lose their memories. Sam was okay, all her memories have returned and she got cleared by the doctors, but she was shaken up.

‘You know how, a few weeks ago, I said I didn’t miss home that much? I don’t miss home right now, but I sure as hell miss you.’

It was painful, to Daniel, to watch it without being able to hug her.

𝚲

Daniel filmed one video while he was off world.

‘SG13 wanted my help with some translations on a temple they found on a planet. I’m here, as you can see. It’s a nice planet, actually. There’s trees and flowers and…’

He sighed. ‘I’m taking an allergy pill every three hours. The gate is a ten hour walk from here, I’m really jealous of those jumpers you were telling me about. And SG13 bailed out on me, they’re currently at the village tavern.’

Daniel whined. ‘And the temple isn’t even interesting! I’m bored, Sam! It’s the first time in months I’m offworld and I’m bored. I’d be more entertained in my office, buried alive under inventory reports.’

He looked to the side for a moment, before looking back at the camera.

‘Maybe I just had fun offworld because I was with you guys. That makes more sense, doesn’t it?’

He smiled. ‘I guess I miss you. So I’m gonna go to the village tavern, have a drink of something that’ll probably suck, then I’ll come back here and keep working on these ancient Latin translations.’

Daniel pulled a face. ‘Honestly, they’re pretty much cookie recipes. This is horrible. Bye, Sam, hope you’re doing better than I am.’

𝚲

‘Fucking Replicators!’

That was all Sam said in one video. Just that, just those two words.

For the rest of the four minutes of the video, she just filmed herself as she was trying to calm down. She smiled, though, before she signed off.

𝚲

One video, Daniel filmed on his couch.

‘So, I did something impulsive, kinda stupid and borderline crazy.’

Then, he yelped, cursing at something in his lap. He rearranged the thing that poked him and put the camera on his coffee table, so they were both in frame.

‘This is Thor.’

Daniel adopted a dog. He was a black labrador, with a brown spot on his chest.

‘He’s almost two years old, I got him at the pound. He’s deaf in one ear but I’ve had him for the past week and he’s surprisingly well behaved.’

Of course, that was when Thor started munching on his sweatpants.

‘Well, he has his moments. He only destroyed two pairs of slippers, but beyond that, he’s great. He listens to my commands, only does his business when we’re outside. And, I gotta tell you, Sam. He’s a hit with the ladies.’

Daniel grinned at that. ‘I’ve snuck him in the SGC. We get constant visits from the lovely ladies on base, and we already know that Walter gives the best pets. I’m pretty sure Landry’s well aware of him, but he hasn’t said anything yet.’

Thor stopped eating his clothes. Instead, he lied down on his lap, wrapping his front paws around Daniel’s free arm and bringing it to his chest.

He couldn’t help but melt at that.

‘He’s also very cuddly.’, Daniel said gently, looking down at the dog.. ‘Honestly, I’ve been thinking about this for a couple of months, but… there’s this new therapist on base, and he convinced me. I walked into the pound fully prepared to get a smaller dog, but then I saw his name, 100% Azgard, and then I saw his face and I could not, for the like of me, walk away.’

Daniel looked back at the camera. ‘I still miss you, but Thor’s been keeping me company.’

At the sound of his name, the dog barked, twice.

‘Bye, Sam. From the both of us.’

𝚲

Sam, at one point, spent a few hours locked in a transporter with Zelenka, while the city was on lock-down. She didn’t like the man very much, kept grumbling about him, even as she tried to tell Daniel what happened.

At the end of the video, she whined, like a child.

‘Wish you would have been here to save me from Zelenka. Or, better yet, we would have gotten stuck together.’

Then, Sam sighed. ‘I miss you, Daniel. Watching your videos is the highlight of my week.’

Daniel’s longing was getting stronger and stronger.

𝚲

‘I actually got into a fight with Landry today.’, Daniel sighed. ‘I’m not going to tell you what it was about, it doesn’t really matter anymore. I’m just... kinda tired, actually. I haven’t been sleeping well these past few nights.’

Thor barked.

‘And someone needs a walk.’, he translated. ‘Why did I turn the camera on, again? Oh, right.’

Daniel grinned. ‘Cam got a girlfriend . I’ll tell you about it after Thor’s walk.’

𝚲

One video was filmed as Sam was in the Infirmary. Doctor Keller was holding the camera, and Sam was quick about it.

‘I fell in a well. It was actually a deserted mining facility. Jennifer was with me’, she pointed behind the camera. ‘And Rodney.’

‘Come on’, Jennifer said in response to Sam’s expression, ‘he wasn’t that bad.’

Sam tilted her head. ‘He wasn’t, actually. I kinda feel bad he broke up with his girlfriend.’

Jenniffer hummed at that. ‘He didn’t seem too broken up about it.’

‘No, you’re right, he didn’t. Which is weird, because-’

‘Anyway.’, Jennifer cut Sam off. ‘I’m sure Doctor Jackson doesn’t want to hear about Rodney’s love life.’

‘Right.’, Sam grinned sheepishly at the camera. ‘I broke my leg. It kinda hurts.’

The camera panned down at Sam’s leg, which was now in a cast. Sheppard had already signed it.

‘I’ll be fine, though.’, she went on, and the camera moved back to her face. ‘It’s… I’ve had worse.’

Then, she tilted her head. ‘I… Actually, this message is about something else, Daniel. You remember that mission on P2X-I don’t remember what, where you found the temple with the carvings about Atlantis, the pool?’

Sam grinned. ‘Remember how both you and Teal’c owe me one? I’m cashing in.’

She paused for dramatic effect.

‘The IOA is going to be conducting interviews on Earth, to ensure that some personnel serving on Atlantis are suitable for their roles. Meaning, the aliens.’

‘Really?’, Jennifer asked, disgust clear.

Sam nodded gravely at her, before looking back at the camera.

‘Teyla’s first up, and I’m going to need you to make sure she’s okay while she’s on Earth. She’s pretty close to having the baby and I don’t want the IOA idiots to do any sort of damage.’

She paused, then she smiled. ‘I can picture you nodding, so I’ll take that as confirmation. I’m going to record a message for Teal’c too, he’ll be in charge of Ronan.’

‘Oh boy.’, Jennifer said slowly.

Again, Sam nodded at her, before looking back to the camera and smiling softly.

‘Miss you, wish you were here, all the other various polite pleasantries. And now, I can officially report that the fruit cups on Atlantis are just as bad as at the SGC. You’d probably love ‘em.’

She chuckled, shaking her head. Then, she told Jennifer to stop recording.

Daniel took a deep breath and went to find Walter. He probably knew when Teyla was set to gate to Earth.

𝚲

Daniel tried to take care of Teyla, really he did. But he barely got to see her, the first day. She was stuck in IOA meetings all day, and then she apologized and said she needed rest.

The next morning, though, Daniel was at her door bright and early. He had Thor (an excuse), breakfast packed (with the help of Thor’s puppy eyes) and a verbal agreement to take Teyla to the surface (no more than 30 minutes, and he had to promise Landry they weren’t going to mention it to the IOA).

Teyla was very grateful. She was done with her sandwich by the time they made it to the surface and she smiled widely at her first breath of fresh air.

‘We can’t go far’, Daniel said apologetically, ‘and we have to be back in 30 minutes. The IOA shouldn’t know I snuck you out.’

‘Thank you, 30 minutes will be more than enough. Could we walk?’

Daniel led them, just around the base. There were paths that he knew like the back of his hand after so many years working here.

They were silent for a while, as Teyla kept eating the pieces of fruit he also brought her. But when those were done, she leveled him with a look.

‘You’re worried about Colonel Carter.’

‘Not worried, per say. I’m just curious to know how she’s doing.’

Teyla raised an eyebrow. ‘It was my understanding that you remained in contact with her.’

‘We did.’, Daniel nodded. ‘We get messages across often enough. But that’s… You know, that’s just what she tells me. I know she can take care of herself but, yeah, I worry.’

The woman smiled at that.

‘Colonel Carter is one of the strongest women I have ever met. She is brilliant, but that doesn’t come in the way of her compassion. And-’

‘I know all that.’, Daniel cut her off. ‘I’ve known Sam for 10 something years.’

Teyla nodded.

‘She is doing well on Atlantis, Doctor Jackson. She is a fair leader, and a good woman. We have all grown fond of her. Some more than others.’

He frowned at that, making Teyla chuckle.

‘She has made friends, Doctor Jackson. The type of friends that would stop at nothing to assure her safety.’

It took a moment, but he smiled at her, very grateful.

‘Call me Daniel, will you? I hear we have a friend in common.’

Teyla laughed at that, bright and loud.

‘I admire her very much.’, she went on. ‘She is a woman who knows how to make her people respect her, and not just because of her rank. And beyond that’, Teyla smiled, ‘I like her.’

Daniel hummed, waiting for more.

‘She is not what I expected.’, Teyla said after a moment. ‘A military woman, put in charge of the Atlantis expedition. I expected her to be…’

‘A jerk?’

‘No.’, she snorted. ‘I was going to say… harsh.’

‘Oh, Sam can be harsh.’, Daniel pointed out, vivid memories flashing before his eyes.

‘Yes, but she only makes herself harsh if the situation calls for it. I was very surprised by how soft she can be.’

Daniel was prepared to ask further about that, but he noticed that Teyla had put her hands on her very prominent belly. He didn’t enquire further, instead he smiled.

‘When are you due?’

‘It feels like forever and then some.’

He chuckled at that. ‘I think that’s what everyone says, so you’re doing well.’

‘There are still a lot of things I need to take care of.’

Daniel knew a little about that, he had picked up bits and pieces from Sam. He didn’t mention it.

‘Well if half of the things Sam told me are true, then your team has your back.’

‘They do.’, Teyla smiled. ‘I am very grateful for the family I gained on Atlantis.’

Daniel felt a pang of pain at that, because he missed his family. He missed Sam something terrible, and it kept growing in the months since she left, to the point of desperation.

For the past two months, he had been trying to convince Landry to let him go to Atlantis. He wanted to do research, spend hours in the hologram room, learning Ancient history. He didn’t understand why Landry wasn’t letting him go.

In that moment, looking at Teyla, Daniel decided he was going to try again, one last time. And he won’t pull any stops.

‘I think it’s time we head back, isn’t it?’, Teyla said gently. ‘You look like you have something very important to do.’

‘Yeah.’, Daniel strengthened his shoulders. ‘Yeah, I do. And I might need your help.'

𝚲

Sam was supposed to just meet Teyla, talk about her meeting with the IOA, but of course the rest of the team came too.

As she listened to Teyla explain the horrors of the IOA, Sam grew more and more nervous about Ronan’s interview. And if she had any doubts about bringing Teal’c in, they were all gone.

Still, Teyla handled it well, of course she did.

‘I would like to thank you, Colonel Carter, for making Doctor Jackson take care of me. He was very helpful.’

‘He tends to be, yes.’, she smiled, turning to Ronan. ‘And so is Teal’c, who is going to come and offer you pointers for your interview.’

The man narrowed his eyes. ‘I don’t need pointers.’

‘I beg to differ. In normal circumstances, you wouldn’t. But the IOA are a very particular sort of… nasty, that Teal’c is used to dealing with. Please, just… hear him out, Ronan. That’s all I ask.’

It took a few moments and a few pokes from Teyla, but the man did agree, reluctantly.

Just as she was about to end the meeting, Chuck’s voice sounded in the conference room.

‘Colonel Carter, there’s a package for you from Earth.’

‘A package?’, she frowned.

‘A gift from General Landry.’, the man sounded amused. ‘It’s on its way to the conference room.’

That didn’t explain much, and they were all frowning, except for Teyla.

When the doors opened and Sam saw Daniel, standing there, in jeans and a leather jacket, she thought her heart was going to leap out of her chest.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘Nothing.’, he was quick to say. ‘Nothing, I promise. I’m here to do research, try to make a dent in the Ancient database.’

‘Oh, great.’, Rodney groaned. ‘Just what we need, more stupid ideas about what we could drain power with.’

Daniel rolled his eyes at that, didn’t really address Rodney. He kept looking at Sam, and she felt very weak.

The truth was that Daniel was the hardest part of Atlantis. The fact that he wasn’t there, it brought Sam many sleepless nights. She had always loved Daniel, a ridiculous amount, but since she came to the Pegasus Galaxy, since she left him home, since they started exchanging videos… she had started to fall in love with him.

It was stupid and ridiculous and honestly, they’ve known each other for more than a decade, and she had never had thoughts like these before. She waited until she was on the other side of the Universe to fall in love with her best friend, and seeing him there, seeing him in front of her, just a few steps away, it made Sam love him even more.

She tried her best not to let anything show on her face, as she narrowed her eyes at Daniel.

‘What are you really doing here?’

First, he rolled his eyes. Then, his eyes quickly swept across the room, to John, Ronan and Rodney, and they stopped on Teyla. Who smiled at him and nodded slightly.

When Daniel looked to Sam, he glared, but it kinda lacked strength.

‘I missed you.’, he deadpanned. ‘And Landry got tired of me bugging him.’

Ronan snorted at that, surprising everyone. ‘I like him. We can keep him.’

It took a few moments of fighting it, but Sam couldn’t help it, she laughed. It made Daniel grin at her, and she was aware that the other men in the room were staring at her, but she ignored it.

Sam got up and walked to Daniel’s side, hugging him tightly. He responded immediately, pushing their cheeks together. She had never really relaxed, since she came to Atlantis, not until that moment.

‘I’m only here for a month.’, he said gently. ‘Until your yearly review.’

Sam stopped the hug and she leveled Daniel with a look.

‘Please tell me you didn’t bring your dog to Atlantis.’

He snorted. ‘No, he’s at SGC. Everyone’s taking a turn with him. There’s a printed schedule and everything.’

Sam tried to compose herself, so she turned to Teyla. ‘Jennifer is waiting for you in the Infirmary, it’s time for your checkup. Take Daniel with you, please. He’s going to need allergy pills.’

Daniel frowned at that. ‘I … forgot them on Earth, yes I did.’

‘Back to work, everyone!’, Sam said cheerily.

They all went their separate ways, but John followed her, silently.

‘What?’, she finally said, when there wasn’t anyone else around.

His eyes and face were very teasing. ‘Your eyes got all sparkly.’

‘Excuse me?’

‘Seriously, your eyes got all… shiny when Jackson showed up.’

Sam narrowed her eyes. ‘I’ve known the man for a decade, John. He’s my best friend.’

‘I get it, I’m just saying…’, he snorted. ‘It was cute.’

She slapped his shoulder and walked away. If her cheeks were on fire, he didn’t see it.

𝚲

Surprising absolutely nobody, Daniel lost track of time.

McKay took him to a holo room that they had managed to hook up to naquadah generators, so it won’t drain the ZPM. Someone was nice enough to bring him a small desk and a chair, so Daniel could easily work on his laptop, writing down everything that he learned.

It was… absolutely amazing. Daniel was in his absolute heaven, so of course he forgot to eat.

When it was already dark out, Sam came by with a tray piled high with food. She knew him very well, not just because he brought him foods that he liked, but because she was well aware that he had forgotten food existed.

They sat down against a wall, eating off the same plates and talking with their mouths full.

At first, Daniel did most of the talking, overly excited about all the things he had learned. He managed to reel himself in and stop being a massive nerd.

‘So’, he wrapped it up, ‘enough about me. How are you?’

Sam snorted, knocking their shoulders together. ‘Better now that you’re here.’

Daniel really was not expecting that answer, so he kind of froze.

‘I’m tired, all the time.’, she went on gently. ‘Everybody always needs something from me, there are always at least 15 important things that need my signature, 25 things going wrong with the city and there are always 50 unread emails in my inbox that are solely complaints. That’s without taking into account the constant threat of wraith and the dangerous offworld missions.’

She took a deep breath, making an effort to relax her body, by resting her head on his shoulder.

‘But today, I saw you, and while I wanted to strangle you for not telling me you were coming, I was happy and relieved, at least for a moment, there.’

Daniel’s heart was somewhere in his stomach and yeah, he understood what she was saying, because he felt exactly the same way.

He moved, slowly, wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pressed his lips, briefly, to her forehead.

‘I missed you too, Sam.’

‘Clearly.’, she teased. ‘How did you convince Landry?’

Daniel narrowed his eyes at her. ‘Did you know I was trying to convince him?’

She just threw him a look, like he was stupid for thinking otherwise.

‘I told him that he owed me.’, Daniel sighed. ‘After all the shit I’ve been through, after everything I’ve done, the fact that I spent all of three days on Atlantis until now was really unfair.’

He snorted. ‘And I asked Teyla to mention how important it was for someone to take the time and go through the database.’

‘Sneaky.’, Sam pointed out. ‘I’m proud of you.’

Then, she yawned and, checking his watch, Daniel was surprised to see that it was 2AM.

‘Oh, it’s definitely bed time.’

They were quick to pack things up and Daniel wordlessly walked Sam to her quarters.

He told her good night and that he’ll see her tomorrow, and Sam reacted weirdly. Her eyes got wide and after a moment’s hesitation, she kind of jumped at him.

She hugged him really tightly, her arms around his neck, pushing their cheeks together. Daniel had to focus to keep his balance and not fall. Of course, he hugged her back immediately, wrapping his arms around her waist.

‘You’re here.’, Sam whispered, a little incredulity seeping through.

Daniel didn’t really answer, but in a fit of childish playfulness, swept Sam off her feet.

She was surprised, so she screeched, but it ended up in joyful laughter. He didn’t put her down until she demanded it.

‘You’re fucking crazy.’, Sam said, still smiling.

‘It’s why we get along so well.’, he said quickly. ‘I’ll pick you up in the morning for breakfast.’

‘And coffee.’

Daniel started walking away, because if he didn’t, he’d end up keeping her awake for a few more hours. He only turned around after Sam’s door was closed and even after he made it to his own quarters, even after he got ready to sleep, Daniel did not stop smiling.

𝚲

He quickly fell into a routine, on Atlantis.

Daniel woke up earlier than most of the base, and he met up with John and Ronan, ran a few laps on the bridge they found. After a quick shower, he picked Sam up and went to breakfast.

Sometimes they were alone. Other times, some other people joined them, mostly Sheppard’s team, sometimes Jennifer.

After that, Daniel went into the holo room and got to work. They started calling it Daniel’s Cave, because he spent so much time there.

He didn’t pause for lunch, but he sometimes took a short break and ate some snacks. He stopped working when it was dinner time. Sam wasn’t always there, but there usually was someone who wanted to socialize with Daniel.

After that, he clocked a few more hours in the holo room. Most nights, he stopped only when Sam came and told him to go to bed. They spent a few more minutes together, then, because Daniel always walked her to her quarters.

𝚲

Things started getting weird after the first week.

There were a surprising amount of ladies hitting on Daniel. Everytime he went out in public, there was some woman introducing herself, smiling, batting her eyelashes, and asking him out for drinks.

One morning, he all but ran to the table where Sam, John and Ronan were having breakfast. And he kind of exploded.

‘I’m going to need one of you to be by my side everytime I come out of the cave.’

‘What’s wrong?’, Sam was quick to ask.

He looked at her with wide eyes. ‘Now look, I get that the dating pool is limited on Atlantis, but this is ridiculous.’

Sam choked on her coffee. ‘Seriously?’

Daniel nodded, gravely.

‘Seriously?’, John asked.

Again, he nodded.

‘And you mind?’, Ronan snorted.

‘Yes.’, Daniel said strongly. ‘It’s abnormal and I don’t like it.’

Ronan frowned and spoke slowly. ‘You don’t like a bunch of women throwing themselves at you?’

‘No, I don’t. I go back to Earth in three weeks, what’s the point?’

John opened his mouth, but Daniel didn’t let him talk.

‘No, don’t.’

‘I was gonna ask if you have someone waiting back home.’, John saved it.

Daniel shook his head. ‘No, but that is not the point of this conversation.’

‘Don’t worry, Daniel.’, Sam finally said something, mockingly patting his arm. ‘We’ll protect you from the evil, hot ladies of Atlantis.’

‘See that you do.’, he told her seriously. ‘Cause if not, then I’m going to submit a formal complaint.’

Sam groaned at that, and they went on to discussing other things. But Daniel couldn’t help but notice that she made an effort to spend even more time at his side, especially come dinner.

The reality was that they didn’t spend a lot of time alone, just the two of them. Some mornings, yes, and those five minutes it took to walk from the cave to her room, every night. But most times, there was someone else around, too.

Daniel didn’t really mind it, he was happy that she was by his side. Just being next to her, pressing their knees together and laughing at whatever Rodney and John were bickering about, it was enough for him.

He enjoyed Atlantis a whole lot, but he enjoyed Sam’s presence even more.

𝚲

When Carson Beckett came back from the dead, Daniel was very interested to see how everyone reacted. Because, while this wasn’t a new situation for him, he had always been the one to come back from the dead. So it was interesting to see how freaked out everyone was, he didn’t notice it in the times he came back.

Sam dealt with the rest of Atlantis, Daniel took it upon himself to speak to Carson.

The other man was apprehensive, at first, but after Daniel explained his own experiences, Carson relaxed around him.

But the rest of Sheppard’s team, they were having a hard time coming to terms with it, and Daniel felt the need to intervene.

He managed to gather them all in the cave, and he held a very long speech. While he knew fully well that Sam had talked to them about what having a clone of Carson walk around Atlantis meant, Daniel spoke of what it meant from Carson’s perspective. He understood the doctor more than everyone else, because he had gone through the experience a few times. Sure, he wasn’t a clone, he was pretty sure, but Carson didn’t feel like a clone, either.

The truth of the matter was that, at the end of the day, Carson was still their friend and a part of their team, and they had him back. That was a miracle, no matter in what way it happened.

In the end, it didn’t really matter, because Carson was dying and they had to put him in a stasis pod. But the day after that, after their run, John stopped him from heading back to his quarters. Clearly, there was something on his mind.

‘You know, since I came here, there've been all these crazy things happening. Things that five years ago I would have said were a bad plot in a comic book.’

Daniel chuckled at that. ‘I know what you mean.’

‘But you and Carter have been at it for ten years.’, John said slowly. ‘I read some reports but I don’t think I understood that those stuff actually happened, and they happened to you.’

‘Yes. They did. So what?’ Daniel didn’t really understand what was going through John’s head.

‘When you came to Atlantis, I teased Carter because she got all cute with you here.’

Daniel just raised an eyebrow at that.

‘I think I only just realized what being on an SG team really means, in terms of...the connection you have with your teammates.’

‘That’s a big fat lie.’, Daniel was quick to say. ‘You’d give your life for your team without a second though. And from what I understand, you almost did a few times.’

John didn’t seem convinced.

‘It’s okay to love them, to the point of desperation.’, Daniel said gently. ‘Teyla, Rodney and Ronan are your family in Atlantis, and you don’t need to say it. They know it anyway, because they feel it too.’

It took a few moments, but John nodded. Daniel still didn’t understand why he wanted to have this conversation, but he hoped it gave John what he needed.

Still, there was just one issue left.

‘Don’t tease Sam about the men in her life. She’s gonna crush your balls for it.’

John snorted. ‘Really, though. Ten years and you haven't hooked up?'

‘Do we look like the type of people who are fans of hooking up?’, he rolled his eyes.

‘Well, no, but-’

‘Why didn’t you hook up with Teyla? You’ve known her for four years.’

John paused, for a moment. ‘I get what you’re saying, but I still think there’s something different with you two.’

He was right, but Daniel wasn’t going to admit that, so he fell back to his usual sass.

‘You’ll be the first to know if that ever happens, okay?’

John glared. ‘Screw you, Jackson.’

‘No, Sheppard, I’m pretty straight.’

‘Jackson!’

Cackling, Daniel walked away.

𝚲

He went back to that conversation in the days to come, when Teyla was missing, kidnapped by Michael, and when John went missing for 12 days.

𝚲

The Apocalypse on Atlantis was very different from the Apocalypse on Cheyenne Mountain.

That didn’t stop Daniel from wanting to help. He couldn’t do much, but he followed Sam: first on the planet where Sheppard and his team were trapped under what used to be Michael’s medical compound, and then on the Daedalus, fighting Michael’s ship.

Teyla was on that ship, everyone was sure of it, but they didn’t actually have any proof. John was evidently hurt and he didn’t have any business being out of the Infirmary, but he was taking no shit and arguing with Sam about going on the rescue mission for Teyla.

‘I have more respect for you than any other commanding officer I’ve ever had, but I’m going on that jumper. I’ll submit for court martial when I’m done.’

Sam still hesitated, clearly surprised by his words. Daniel wasn’t, not after the last conversation he had with John.

So he touched Sam’s arm and told John to go and be careful.

‘Why did you do that?’, she asked when he was gone.

‘Because’, he leveled her with a look. ‘I would have done the same if you were on that ship, and so would you if I were there.’

Sam took a deep, shaky breath, before she nodded strongly. ‘I have work to do.’

In a fit of bravery, he kissed her forehead. She relaxed at that, grabbed his shirt in order to keep him close.

‘It’s going to be okay.’, Daniel said gently. ‘We’ve got this.’

After a few moments of silence, Sam chuckled and locked eyes with him. ‘You’re a terrible liar.’

He couldn’t help but grin at that. ‘Also, I should probably join Sheppard.’

‘What? Why?’, her hold on him tightened.

‘Because knowing our luck, Teyla’s water probably broke already.’

‘I hate it’, she said after a moment, ‘but go.’

Daniel smiled at her, and gently removed her hand from his shirt. With that, he ran after Sheppard.

𝚲

Delivering a baby on a wraith hive was a pretty weird experience. But, at least, Daniel had some experience from Abydos. McKay, however, was panicking more than Teyla.

He had to give it to Teyla, she managed to calm him down and from that point on, Rodney was actually useful.

Nothing short of a fucking miracle, a baby boy was born, and he was crying softly, as his mother was smiling widely.

Just in time too, as the rest of the team came back for them.

Daniel’s plans that day didn’t include being beamed up in a wraith dart, but there he was. At least they all got out alive, baby included.

𝚲

Teyla was very grateful that Daniel put his life in jeopardy in order to save her and little baby Torren John. She wanted to say more, but Daniel didn’t let her. Instead, he gave her the teddy bear he brought with him from Earth a month ago, and said his goodbye to her and the rest of the team.

Sam was waiting for him by the gate. ‘Ready to go home?’

Not really. He wanted to spend more time on Atlantis, but more than that, he wanted to spend more time with her. And once they got to Earth, she will only attend a meeting with the IOA and come back to the city.

He didn’t tell her that, she probably knew it anyway. Instead, he smiled.

‘Let’s go.’

𝚲

Woolsey was waiting for them when they got to Earth. And the little bastard did not hesitate for a moment when he gave Sam the news.

She wasn’t going back to Atlantis. Woolsey will be going to take the lead.

Sam was rendered absolutely speechless.

Daniel took a deep breath and grabbed her arm. He glared at the other man, speaking with a level of calmness that surprised even himself.

‘Mr. Woolsey, with little due respect, if you don’t step away right now, I am going to punch you in the balls and I am not going to stop Sam from doing whatever she’s thinking about right now.’

Needless to say, the man pretty much ran out of there.

𝚲

They spent a few hours in the Infirmary, getting checked over. Sam didn’t say much, and then she went to meet with the IOA members.

Daniel waited for her.

The meeting took over seven hours and by then, it was 6AM and he hadn’t slept in well over 30 hours.

When the meeting ended, he was sitting on the floor, right in front of the door. The various IOA members gave him a strange look, but he ignored them all.

By his accounts, Sam and Woolsey were the only ones left in the conference room, so Daniel had no issue with going in.

He was completely ignored, because Sam was lecturing Woolsey. She wasn’t yelling, she wasn’t angry, she was just calmly explaining to him what type of people he will be dealing with on Atlantis. She didn’t say a lot, just a few vital pieces of information about everyone he will be dealing with more often.

Daniel was impressed, really, because not only was what she was saying pertinent details about the people, that will clearly help Woolsey, but also because she was speaking of a lot of people.

It went on for several long minutes. At the end of it, Woolsey actually seemed impressed, and the way he thanked Sam sounded real.

‘Anything else, Colonel Carter?’

She shook her head.

Daniel stept fully inside of the room, then, catching their attention.

‘They’re still mourning Elizabeth.’, he told Woolsey. ‘And they love Sam. Even on your best days, their first instinct will be to hate you. It’s best you accept that before you get there.’

Woolsey nodded, eyes skipping between Sam and Daniel.

He sighed, rubbing at his eyes. ‘You both get a week off. I suggest you get some rest.’

Sam snorted, turning to look at Daniel. ‘We’re going fishing.’

There wasn’t even a question there, and Daniel was really grateful for that.

𝚲

They left the next day, early in the morning. Daniel drove, Sam all but ordered him to stop at Dunkin Donuts for breakfast and coffee.

The drive took a couple of hours, which were spent not talking. It was dark out, Daniel was being extra careful with the driving, while Sam was working on her tablet, latest reports from Atlantis. There was music playing low in the background, but that was it.

It was barely 10AM when they made it to the cabin, but Jack was already there, grilling.

‘I can’t stay!’, was the second thing he said after an impersonal greeting. ‘I have to be in Washington tonight for a meeting about the Icarus base.’

Daniel didn’t know what that was, but he didn’t find himself being too curious. What was more important to him in that moment, was the fact that he and Sam might end up spending a few days together, all alone in Jack’s cabin.

Again, she didn’t hesitate that long. ‘We’ll still be staying, sir. There better be enough beer in the fridge!’

Jack grinned at her, and ordered Daniel to set the table.

They ate at the table outside. Daniel had coffee, Jack had a beer, Sam had both. The chatter was easy as they ate, but when the food was mostly gone, Jack leveled Sam with a serious look.

‘I’m sorry.’, is what he started with.

‘I know you are.’, she easily smiled at him. ‘I’m sure you did the best you could.’

‘Had a sore throat for three days from all the yelling.’

Sam snorted.

‘But.’, Jack went on. ‘They’re going to offer you command of the Pheo-uh I mean, the General Hammond.’

That surprised Sam, clearly. She blinked a few times, then she said a strong ‘No.’

That surprised Jack, he raised an eyebrow. ‘No?’

She took a deep breath. ‘Officially, I’m going to tell them that I’m tired, and that I have a lot of important work on Earth that I’ve neglected. Work that will not only help us at the SGC, but Atlantis and Icarus, too.’

‘And unofficially?’, he asked.

Sam relaxed, a little. ‘Jack, you did tell me, repeatedly, that I should get a life. I think it’s about time I did that.’

Again, that surprised Jack. ‘And the life you want is on Earth?’

She nodded. ‘Mostly.’

‘Sounds like you have something specific in mind.’, Jack said, teasingly.

Sam grinned sweetly at him. ‘Sounds like something that’s not any of your business.’

Jack snorted at that, before turning to Daniel. ‘What about you, Danny boy?’

‘Oh, I’m definitely not taking command of a ship.’

‘Of course not.’, Jack glared at him. ‘But what are you going to do next?’

‘I’m actually enjoying catching up with all the artifacts at the SGC.’

After a few moments of looking at the two of them, Jack sighed.

‘You guys are boring.’

‘We’re going to be so boring.’, Sam said, happily so. ‘Six more days of nothing but food, beer and boring.’

‘Aaaaand that’s my queue to leave.’, Jack got up.

He shook Daniel’s hand and awkwardly patted Sam’s hair. Then, he was off.

‘So.’, Sam looked at him. ‘What’s on the boring agenda for the day?’

Daniel snorted. ‘Clean up’, he indicated the mess on the table, ‘and then check the fridge and pantry, cause I have a feeling we’re going to need to make a grocery run.’

He was right. The only things in the fridge and freezer were meat, fries and beer.

So they got in the car and spent a few hours in a domestic haze, arguing over which cereal to buy and spending way too much time choosing fresh vegetables. Sam got a lot of various chocolate bars for the both of them, while Daniel got a few bottles of wine.

On their way back to the cabin, they stopped at a sandwich place in town that Jack always raved about. It was good enough.

They were lazy, the rest of the day. Didn’t fire up the grill, cooked something quick on the stove instead, for dinner. Ate chocolate and drank some wine on the porch, watching the sunset and chatting away.

It was clear they were both still tired, because they went to bed pretty early.

𝚲

Daniel woke up early the next morning, so he went on a run through the woods. When he came back, Sam was doing pushups on the porch.

‘I wasn’t going to cook you breakfast.’, she threw him an amused look. ‘I ain’t that kind of lady.’

He rolled his eyes. ‘I’ll go shower and then we can make breakfast together. If you’re done with your workout, that is.’

She just hummed, switched to doing one handed pushups. Daniel swallowed down the want that he felt, tried to replace it with being impressed.

𝚲

Her phone rang as they were making pancakes. She put it on speaker.

‘This is Carter.’

‘Hello, Colonel. It’s Walter.’

‘Hi, Walter.’, she smiled. ‘What’s up?’

‘You and Doctor Jackson received some personal messages from Atlantis. Do either of you have access to your server?’

‘I do.’, Sam nodded. ‘Put his messages on there, too.’

‘Uhm.’

Daniel snorted. ‘You have my permission to do that, Walter.’

‘Right.’, the man was probably rolling his eyes. ‘Well then, you enjoy your vacation, sir, ma’am.’

He hung up before either of them got to respond.

They sat down side by side at the table, food laid out in front of them, Sam’s tablet in the middle. Neither of them had any privacy issues, so they watched the videos as they ate.

John was up first, with a message for Sam.

‘I hope you’re pissed off.’, he started. ‘I hope you yelled at the IOA bastards and I hope you wiped the floor with them. That being said…’ 

He took a deep breath and seemed to be hesitating. ‘Thank you. You did very well in Atlantis and while I wish you would have stayed longer, I hope you… Have a nice life, Sam. You deserve it.’

Then, John grinned. ‘I’ll send you another video with little baby John.’

Sam looked a little shaken up, but she wordlessly played the next video, which was from John to Daniel.

‘I would just like to say, officially, that you were right and I was stupid. Because I… I fell in love with the kid long before I saw him. It just got worse then.’

The man chuckled. ‘And the rest of them, too. How did you say it? Love them to the point of desperation? Yeah. Sounds about right.’

‘Thanks, Jackson. I owe you one.’ John winked before he shut off the video.

The last video was a mess, really. John was filming, while Jennifer and Ronan were trying to catch the baby’s attention, who was in Teyla’s arms. Rodney was trying to convince Teyla to let him hold him, everyone was talking at the same time, Teyla was unsuccessfully trying to calm them down, the baby was kicking its little arms and legs.

It was a chaotic mess, but it made both Sam and Daniel smile very wide.

When it was over, Sam was sniffing. ‘I’m going to miss the idiots.’

Daniel was quick to wrap an arm around her shoulders, and she immediately rested her head on him.

‘You’ll see them again.’, he said with certainty. ‘Probably in a life or death situation, but we’re used to that.’

She snorted, gently, but nodded all the while. 

‘You wanna record something for them?’

Sam turned to look at him like he was crazy. ‘You brought your camera?’

‘It’s a photo camera too.’, he was unapologetic. ‘I can count the pictures I have of us together on one hand.’

‘That’s sweet.’, she said gently. ‘Also, ridiculous.’

He just hummed at that, kept holding her.

‘Are you tired after your run?’

‘Nope. What ideas do you have for our boring itinerary of the day?’

Sam smiled. ‘Walk in the woods?’

‘The woods?’, he faked gasping. ‘There might be bears!’

‘You ran there this morning.’

‘Exactly! I ran, I didn’t walk.’

It took a few moments of silence, before they both started laughing. Then they started cleaning up after breakfast and getting ready for their walk.

𝚲

It was nice, actually. It was sunny out, but not too warm to be sweating. The woods were filled with sounds, twigs snapping, birds singing, crows cawing, animals slithering around. There really was no need for the two of them to talk.

Daniel wasn’t joking earlier, he really did bring his camera and he took some pictures. Mostly flowers and trees, but he took a few of Sam when she wasn’t looking, and a few when she was looking.

They spent the rest of the day outside.

Lunch and dinner were cooked at the grill and had on the porch, and the time in between, they spent working. Across from each other at the table, working on their laptops, Sam on her reports and Daniel at his translations. They had beers by their side, though, besides the coffee.

At one point, Sam asked, at half strength, if they should stop working on account that they were on vacation.

Daniel snorted. ‘This is as difficult as doing first grade math homework. You and I both know this is relaxing.’

‘Still’, she tilted her head, ‘it’s break time. Talk to me about something, something else.’

It took him a moment. Not to find a topic, but to get the courage to say it out loud. Daniel didn’t know if he wanted to know the truth, but he was terribly curious.

‘I know your career has always been important to you. So why would you refuse command of a ship?’

Sam just looked at Daniel for a few moments, searching for something. He didn’t know what she found, but she did answer, calmly and with a small smile.

‘I didn’t lie to Jack. I’m tired and… The responsibility of being in charge of Atlantis took a lot out of me, mentally speaking. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I think I could handle being in charge of-’

‘I’m sure of it.’, he cut her off with a smirk.

‘But’, Sam went on, ‘I wanna calm down for a while. And I know you understand that, cause that’s what you’re doing right now.’

Daniel nodded, because that was true.

Sam took a deep breath and looked away from him. ‘The other thing was true, too. I… I don’t have a life outside the SGC. And I don’t mind that, not at all, but…’

Looking back to Daniel, Sam smiled a little, and blushed a little bit more. ‘I wouldn’t find it tiresome, to look for someone now.’

Oh, hope was a hell of a thing. Daniel felt it immediately in his chest, once he understood what she meant. But it went away quickly, replaced with pain, because he knew that she would never look at him like that.

Daniel smiled, trying his best to shove everything down. ‘That’s good, Sam. Real good.’

‘Good enough for you to take a page out of my book?’

‘Oh, I don’t know about that.’, Daniel shook his head. There was no way he was able to even think about anybody other than her.

Sam looked like she wanted to insist, but she didn’t. They went back to work, and nothing else on the topic was said for the rest of the day.

𝚲

The next day, Sam joined him on his morning run. They ran silently for a few miles, taking turns leading and following. After taking quick showers and an even quicker breakfast, just as they were ready to take their things outside and get to work, it started raining, violently so.

So they set up camp in the living room. Sam sat on the couch with her laptop in her lap, Daniel sat on the floor, with his laptop on the coffee table. They both weren’t young anymore, so they often took breaks to stretch their backs, but they made it work.

At one point, Sam wrapped herself in a blanket and turned on the radio, letting it play softly in the background.

She looked really snuggly, and she looked like she was really in the zone, her fingers running quickly over the keyboard. So Daniel took charge of lunch, made some pasta, for which she was very grateful.

But when it was time for dinner, they cooked together, Daniel once again getting lost in a sense of domestic bliss. Several times he had to fight the urge to hug her, grab her hand or kiss her quickly.

It got worse after that, because Sam suggested they’d watch a movie. Throughout it, the space between them got smaller and smaller, until they were cuddling. It was her doing, mostly, but Daniel was the one who covered both of them with a blanket and he was the one to wrap an arm around her shoulders, but Sam was quick to lean into him.

They watched a movie, and then another and then another. Well, Daniel didn’t catch the end of the third one, he fell asleep before that.

When he woke up, it was three AM, the tv was playing infomercials and Sam was sprawled over him, fast asleep. He groaned, first, then he gently woke her up. She was half asleep, but Daniel managed to steer her to her room.

She stopped him from leaving by grabbing his hand.

‘I have a question.’, Sam whispered, looking at him with wide eyes. ‘You don’t have to answer, but if you do, I need you to just answer me, and nothing else. No… further questions.’

Daniel frowned deeply, but still nodded.

‘When we found you on Vis Urban, when you came back from ascension and didn’t remember anything, you asked me if we were together. Why did you do that?’

Looking back to that moment, now, Daniel realized that the feelings he now had towards Sam were probably deeply rooted in the past. Even at that moment, he probably loved her, at least a little bit, even if he didn’t realize it in his conscious, un-amnesiac state.

He couldn’t tell Sam that. He didn’t lie either, he just told her a portion of the truth.

‘You know I love you a whole lot, right? And you know that it’s been true for… long before Vis Urban.’

It took a moment, but Sam nodded.

‘It’s a strong sort of love.’, Daniel said gently. ‘I think my brain couldn’t cope with the strength of it, so… that was the only plausible explanation.’

Daniel wanted to ask why she needed to know. Oh, he wanted it somewhat desperately. But he didn’t, because she asked him not to do that. Sam didn’t say anything else, even if it was clear that she wasn’t satisfied with his answer.

Still, she kissed his cheek before going to bed. Daniel spent most of the night wide awake, thinking about what it meant, not coming up with anything.

𝚲

The next day, Sam acted off. She joked more with him, teased him, touched him a lot more, comfortable touches and nudges.

It was nice. And it was weird.

Daniel’s head was a mess, and his heart was pretty much in shambles.

𝚲

It was the last day they were spending at the cabin, they were scheduled to drive back home the next morning.

So they didn’t do any work, that day. They had a big breakfast, then they took a walk in the woods. They talked, this time, about this and that and everything and anything under the sun. Easy topics, nice things that made Daniel feel very… light.

For a late lunch, Daniel chopped up a giant salad and Sam baked cookies. A whole lot of delicious chocolate and peanut butter cookies.

By the end of it, Daniel was so full he couldn’t move. Maybe he could have rolled over to his bedroom, but that seemed like it would be difficult. But he made an effort and followed Sam to the lake, laying down on the deck next to her.

The sun was out, it was a beautiful day. Daniel was filled with sugar, there were birds chipping, his best friend was by his side, taking her hair out of the braid she kept it in, laying on her front next to him.

‘I don’t remember the last time I was this relaxed.’, Daniel turned his head towards her and smiled.

She grinned right back, but then she closed her eyes.

‘Me neither.’, Sam said. ‘Feels nice.’

Daniel snorted at that. ‘I can’t believe I’ve known you for ten years and you never once made me cookies.’

‘Sorry.’, she sounded nothing but. ‘I baked for Cam, once.’

He was actually affronted by that.

‘Just because I owed him one.’, Sam went on. ‘He started it, after successfully not dying in painful ways.’

Daniel pulled a face. ‘Then you owe me a lot more cookies.’

She opened her eyes and grinned at him. ‘Technically, no. Because you did die, more often than not.’

‘But I didn’t stay dead, did I?’

Sam’s expression turned soft, at that. She moved, put her arms on his chest and rested her head on them. Again, with the cuddling that confused Daniel. It didn’t stop him from changing position a little, to make her comfortable.

‘No, you didn’t stay dead.’, Sam said once they were both comfortable. ‘And that’s crazy. Our lives are…’

‘Really fucking crazy.’, he nodded gravely.

‘But’, she smiled, ‘I feel like you and me, and Teal’c and Jack, and Cam. We’re normal.’

‘No, we’re not.’

‘The bonds we’ve built between us, they’re normal.’

Again, Daniel wanted to say that no, no they weren’t, thinking about Sam and Jack.

‘I know what you’re thinking’, Sam poked his forehead, ‘and it’s not like that anymore. Jack and I are pretty normal, these days.’

He believed her, but it was difficult to move past a decade of stolen looks and unsaid words he had witnessed. But the truth of the matter was that, in that moment, Sam was with him at the cabin, she was cuddling him and smiling softly at him.

Daniel didn’t understand it.

‘Is this normal?’, he asked with a frown.

‘What?’

He gently wrapped a strand of Sam’s hair around his finger. ‘Is this normal, with us?’

‘No, it’s not.’ She took a shaky breath, eyes roaming all of his face.

‘What are you doing?’, Daniel breathed out.

‘I’m trying to figure out if I’m going crazy, or if there’s a chance you might actually want this, too.’

Oh, there was that hope again. Like a storm, taking over Daniel’s heart and soul. 

Sam’s phone started ringing, startling them both. She had to answer, of course, but it was clear that she didn’t want to. Reluctantly, Sam stood up in order to pull her phone out of the pocket.

‘This is Carter.’

She frowned immediately after. ‘Yes, sir, he’s here.’ She pushed a button and put the phone on Daniel’s chest.

‘You’re on speaker, General Landry.’

‘Hello, Doctor Jackson.’, the man’s voice came from the phone.

‘Hi, sir. How are you?’

Landry snorted. ‘Worse than you, most likely. I’ll be brief. I’m sorry to cut your vacation short, but I need you two back here. Tomorrow morning at 0700 hours, you’re scheduled to escort SG27 on a planet where they found a temple.’

‘What sort of temple?’, Daniel asked when the other man didn’t go on.

‘The Ancient kind, that has loads of writings and enough flashing lights to, possibly, be powered by a ZPM.’

Sam’s eyes grew very wide at that, just a hint of excitement in them.

Daniel didn’t hesitate, not when he saw that. ‘We’ll be there, sir.’

The conversation was cut off quick enough, and Sam was looking at him with gratefulness but hesitation, too.

‘We can continue this conversation some other time.’, Daniel offered.

‘Promise?’

‘Yeah.’, he nodded. ‘There’s no way in hell we’re leaving it like that.’

Daniel said it strongly, but he took a few deep breaths, calming himself down. ‘Come on. Vacation’s over, we gotta pack if we plan on getting some sleep before the mission.’

He got up and extended a hand to Sam. She grabbed it without hesitating, but she took a few moments of just holding his hand, before she used it to pull herself up.

𝚲

When Daniel dropped her off at her house, Sam hugged him, across the gear shift, and kissed his cheek.

She hesitated for a little while, and Daniel waited patiently.

In the end, all she said was ‘I’ll see you in the morning.’, and Daniel took it for what it was: a dismissal, at least for the moment.

𝚲

P3Z-557 was in the middle of the Lucian Alliance territory, but they didn’t have a constant presence there. So they were kind of safe.

Daniel didn’t care that much, not once he saw the temple.

It was a weird looking thing, a combination they haven’t seen before: Ancient carved in stone, combined with pieces of technology that looked like Atlantis.

Needless to say, Daniel and Sam got to work immediately. An hour later, they were both very excited.

‘If I’m correct, these are instructions.’, Daniel started.

‘There are no ZPM here, they’re using regular crystals for power and- What sort of instructions?’

‘To build a ZPM.’

‘What?

‘I think.’, Daniel said quickly. ‘Honestly, I’m not sure, there are a lot of words I don’t know, I’m probably going to need-’

‘My help, yeah. Maybe McKay or Zelenka, too, they have-’

‘A lot more experience with ZPMs, yes. Sam, this is-’

‘Incredible, but-’

‘Why is it here?’

She frowned deeply at that. ‘What?’

‘Where are we? Like… Where is this planet?’

‘Pretty far from Earth.’, Sam said slowly. ‘Honestly, it’s at the edge of the Milky Way. A little further and we would have needed a ZPM to dial.’

‘So it’s kinda close to Pegasus?’

‘Not close enough to dial it. But, yeah.’

‘Huh.’, Daniel breathed out. ‘Well I guess that’s kind of important, but I have better things to think about right now.’

‘About that.’, Colonel Jeffreson, the leader of SG27, said kind of pointedly. ‘You two geniuses are adorable and all, but you have exactly six hours here.’

He wasn’t a pleasant man, so Daniel glared at him. ‘Excuse me?’

‘Adorable?’, Sam asked. She was ignored.

‘We’re in enemy territory. We can’t stay for you to get your nerd boners in check. Landry wants us back in-’, he checked his watch, ‘five hours and fifty five minutes.’

‘I don’t like you.’, Sam said after a moment. ‘So for the next five hours and forty five minutes, how about you let us work?’

‘Gladly!’, the man grinned, and then he was off.

‘I really don’t like him.’, Sam grumbled.

‘Bigger fish to fry.’, Daniel pointed out.

With that, they got to work.

𝚲

Daniel managed to take pictures of all the carvings. Sam managed to download what data she found. They had an hour to spare, so, of course, that’s when the Lucian Alliance came in.

‘Someone must have tipped them off that we used the gate!’, Jefferson asked, shooting wildly at the sky, where various ships were raining fire at them.

‘We need to head back, now!’, Sam asked from a similar position.

Nobody actually moved, so Daniel did. He sprinted off, running towards the gate. Everyone else followed, shooting all the while.

He managed to dial the gate and to send the code. Most of SG27 went through, Sam did too. It was just him and Jefferson.

They both stepped through the gate, but Daniel had a feeling he was the only one who got shot.

𝚲

He woke up in the Infirmary, pain from hell in his side, Sam typing away on a tablet by his bed.

‘You’re okay.’, she said when she noticed he was awake. ‘It was a bullet, through and through in your side.’

‘A bullet?’, he pulled a face.

‘We’re still working on figuring out how they got their hands on Earth weapons, yes.’

That was too much for him to handle, right then.

‘You’re stuck here for a couple of days.’, Sam said gently. ‘After that, at least a week home.’

‘That’s gonna get boring.’

She smiled at that. ‘I convinced Landry to let you work on the latest translations from home.’

‘I like you the best.’, he said easily, fighting back a yawn. He was unsuccessful.

‘Go to sleep.’, Sam said gently. She also started running her fingers through his hair. 

He couldn’t do anything but listen to her.

𝚲

He did stay at home, for almost three weeks, but every day, he spent at least 14 hours a day translating the ZPM building instructions. He wasn’t sure that’s what it actually was, but he tried his best and he actually worked very hard on it.

So on his first day back at the SGC, Daniel was smiling widely as he made his way towards Sam’s office, translations safely secured on a hard drive.

For the next few days, they worked side by side in his office (it was quieter), trying to fill the pieces that Daniel had missed.

In the end, Sam concluded that it was, in fact, a manual on how to build a ZPM. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the technology to do it, not yet. He was sure that Sam will keep on working on it.

But beyond that, there was also information about a secret lab on Atlantis, of a scientist called Janus. There was not nearly enough information to actually find it, but Landry, surprisingly so, allowed him to go.

Sam was mildly annoyed, but it was childish annoyance, not actual anger. She hugged him tightly before he left, ordered him to be safe and annoy McKay as much as possible.

𝚲

Well.

Daniel got hurt. In the process, he discovered a secret lab, a forgotten branch of Azgards and managed to bond, a little, with McKay.

Never a dull moment, on Atlantis.

In the Infirmary, as McKay was eating his fruit cup, Sheppard came by and asked about Sam.

‘She’s good. Working on something big and complicated, actually.’

‘Like what?’, McKay’s eyes sparkled.

As Daniel explained, briefly, about the temple and the ZPM building instructions, McKay got more and more shocked.

‘I need to go-’

‘No.’, John was quick to say. ‘You need to stay here, there’s enough to be done on Atlantis. Carter can handle it.’

‘But-’

‘And if she can’t’, Daniel pointed out, ‘she’ll call.’

McKay wanted to argue some more, but the way both Daniel and John were glaring at him stopped him.

‘So.’, John turned to him. ‘How are you doing?’

Daniel narrowed his eyes. ‘Well, I’m alive, which is nice. I’m in pain and marginally high on whatever Doctor Keller is pumping in my veins.’

‘I meant, in general.’, John said, rolling his eyes.

Daniel didn’t say anything, just frowned confusingly at him.

‘He wants to know if you and Sam hooked up.’, McKay explained.

Daniel opened his mouth. Closed it. Thought about it a bit more.

‘I’m suddenly very tired and that’s not any of your business, not even remotely.’

‘You heard the man!’, Jennifer said from the other side of the lab. ‘Let Doctor Jackson rest or I’ll be very cross with you.’

‘We can’t have that!’, McKay said quickly, too quickly. He kind of dragged John away, leaving behind a very confused Daniel.

‘How did you manage to get McKay to listen to you?’

Jennifer didn’t answer. She just smiled mischievously and blushed slightly.

‘Really?’, he couldn’t help but be surprised. ‘You and Rodney?’

‘Not yet.’, she said, happily so.

Daniel was a flawed man, considering that in that moment, all he could think was that if Jennifer and Rodney did it, then maybe there was a chance for him and Sam.

‘I’m not going to ask’, Jennifer smirked at him, ‘but that expression on your face is really interesting.’

‘As I said, Doctor. I’m suddenly very tired.’

She snickered, but she did let him sleep. Which was exactly what he did and if he dreamt of Sam, he didn’t really remember any of them.

𝚲

Over the next few weeks, Sam and Daniel went back to having their morning coffee together, but nowadays, they took it to-go, because Thor liked it when they both walked him.

Of course, Thor loved Sam. 

The first time they met, Sam visited Daniel when he was recovering from the gun injury. She sat down on the couch and Thor immediately plastered himself to her legs, putting his head in her lap and wiggling his tail.

Thor got many pets that day, and from then on, if Sam and Daniel were outside, the dog was there. And some days, when Thor was at the SGC and he disappeared, they always found him in Sam’s lab.

On the rare occasion when Daniel went offworld, Thor stayed with Sam. He had his own food bowl at her house, and he made sure she was always stocked on doggy food. And when Sam went offworld, they always went to the park when she came back.

Every time he was with Sam, Daniel felt a mess of emotions. He felt longing, but he had gotten used to it by now. He felt hope, which was a new sort of feeling, and he always thought back to that moment they shared on Jack’s lake deck. And that made him feel afraid, because they hadn’t picked up the conversation and he wasn’t courageous enough to bring it up. He felt loved, when Sam smiled at him, when she knocked their shoulders together or grabbed his hand.

Daniel was a mess.

𝚲

When Atlantis called, both Sam and Daniel were there.

There was a hive ship coming towards Earth, and it had been modified with the help of a ZPM.

‘Any progress on making a ZPM? Or seven?’, Daniel asked.

‘No. Not even close.’

Those were the last words Sam said to him for a long time.

𝚲

Daniel had said before, that Apocalypses were different on Atlantis than they were on Earth.

Well, what happens when you get an Apocalypse that involves Atlantis and Earth?

You get a chaotic mess that Daniel has never experienced. He stayed there for everything, even though he couldn’t do much.

Mostly, he watched Sam. With Landry in Washington, she was in command of the SGC. And good lord, it fitted her like a glove. He really didn’t fully understand why she refused command of the General Hammond, because it was clear that she liked doing this.

Still, there were bigger fish to fry.

Like the fact that the drone chair was destroyed and Carson, of all people, was flying Atlantis back to Earth.

𝚲

By nothing short of a miracle, they did it.

Atlantis made it to Earth, and they destroyed the hive ship.

Earth was safe. Atlantis was safe, currently floating around the Golden Gate bridge.

The SGC was filled with the sound of joyful laughter, happy screaming in applause.

Daniel locked eyes with Sam and she was grinning so widely at him, so happy, he did not hesitate for a moment in running to her and hugging her very tightly.

She pushed her face into the crook of his neck, laughing brightly. But after that, she had a lot of work to do, so he let her get back to it.

𝚲

Three days later, Daniel was in his office, pretty late in the evening, when Sheppard and Ronan came and demanded him to take them out for beers. Teyla was there too, but she was a lot more polite.

Daniel actually had plans with Sam, but it wasn’t anything too special, just pizza at her place.

‘Do you want to actually go out? Or we could go to Sam’s house, order pizza and drink her out of beers?’

Ronan and John both shrugged, but Teyla seemed hesitant.

‘It would be impolite, for us to impose on your meeting.’

Daniel snorted at that, and he was quick to pick up his phone and call her lab.

‘How would you feel if a few more people joined us tonight at your place?’

Sam snorted. ‘Let me guess. Four people, two of which are originally from Pegasus?’

‘McKay’s not here, oddly enough.’

‘He went home with Jennifer, to meet her dad.’, John said, smirking wildly.

Daniel was just mildly surprised that they had actually gotten together. Again, it was one of those moments where the hope to be with Sam was painful to feel.

‘I don’t mind.’, Sam said. ‘But I have another hour of work to do, so come here, I’ll give you the key. And Thor.’

He snorted. ‘Oh, Thor’s there? I’m shocked.’

Sam chuckled and hung up.

‘Thor?’, John pulled a face. ‘I don’t like those Azgards.’

Daniel grinned. ‘You’re gonna like this one. I’ll meet you up top in ten.’

𝚲

John did like Thor, but he liked Sam’s stack of beer better.

By the time Sam made it home, the men were on her back porch, sitting at the table with Thor between their legs, drinking beer and eating pizza, while Teyla was on the swing, eating popcorn.

They stayed up for a long, long while, just talking. Laughing, gossiping, telling stories of past missions, steadily drinking beer.

Atlantis wasn’t going to stay long on Earth, they just needed a week to do an overall haul of everything and to gather supplies. And it looked like they all needed some well deserved time off.

So they made plans for the next couple of days. Nothing too major, a dinner at O’Malley’s, a movie night at Daniel’s. Sam took Teyla shopping, Daniel tried to spar with Teyla, but he was utterly unsuccessful. The men took Ronan to a shooting range, they played a couple of games of basketball.

They had fun, with the Atlanteans.

𝚲

At the end of it, Daniel felt like he got to know them a whole lot more in the week on Earth, than in the month on Atlantis.

Before he left, John cornered Daniel in his office.

‘Hey, so, tell me again. Why haven’t you and Carter ever hooked up?’

Just like the last time they had this conversation, Daniel rolled his eyes. ‘I thought we cleared that up.’

‘No, we cleared up what being in an SG team means. What I’m seeing between you two, it goes beyond that.’

Daniel was ready to deny it, but John wasn’t going to believe him, anyway. So he tilted his head and answered truthfully.

‘It’s complicated.’

‘How is it complicated?’

‘I…’, Daniel sighed. ‘There are a lot of things between us that we don’t talk about.’

‘So talk.’, John immediately said.

‘We’re trying, but it’s not that easy. Why do you care, anyway?’

‘I’m nosy.’, came the deadpanned response.

Daniel rolled his life. ‘John, buddy, how about you figure out your love life, before meddling into other people’s?’

‘That’s fair.’, he said after a moment, and that was the end of the discussion.

It wasn’t the end of Daniel’s problem.

𝚲

A few days after Atlantis left the galaxy, Sam was at Daniel’s house, cuddling with Thor on his couch, and there was clearly something on her mind.

Daniel patiently waited her out.

‘Landry is retiring in a few months.’

That… he wasn’t expecting that, but it didn’t take long for him to process what it meant.

‘And he wants you to take over.’

Sam narrowed her eyes. ‘Did he tell you that?’

‘No’, Daniel smiled, ‘I just… I saw you, when Landry was in Washington. You were amazing.’

She still seemed hesitant.

‘Sam, it’ll get you what you want, a life on Earth. And it’ll get you what you deserve, a command.’

‘Yeah, but it’ll be the hardest thing I’ll ever do.’

‘Yes.’, Daniel didn’t hesitate. ‘That doesn’t mean you won’t do it brilliantly.’

She groaned, pouting like a child, hugging Thor tighter to her chest. ‘It’s going to be stressful, and hard and I’m going to be buried in reports and briefings and I’ll have to play nice to the IOA and-’

‘You’re going to love every second of it.’, Daniel cut her off. ‘Yeah, you’re going to miss going offworld and you’re not going to have enough time to work on the projects you’re working on now, but you are going to love it.’

It took a moment, but Sam nodded, smiling gently.

‘I already said yes, but thank you. I needed to hear that.’

Daniel rolled his eyes. ‘Well, Landry offered me to lead the soon to be formed History Department.’

Sam frowned. ‘History Department?’

‘Still working on a name.’, he snorted. ‘I already said yes, too.’

‘Good.’, she grinned, before it turned into a soft smile. ‘Looks like we’re both gonna stick to Earth, huh?’

‘Yeah. That’s going to be nice.’

Again, Sam looked like she wanted to say something, but she didn’t. Daniel didn’t, either.

𝚲

Over the next few months, Sam was in and out of SGC.

Sometimes, she went to Homeworld Command in Washington, doing tests and getting training to prepare her for taking command of the SGC. Other times, she was in Area 51 or on the planet where the Icarus base was getting built.

Daniel was busy, too. Yes, he was still focusing on the backlog of artifacts piled up in the SGC archives, but he got an assignment, here and there. Mostly, he recruited people for the Icarus mission.

Still, they made time for each other. They didn’t have coffee together every morning, but both of them made an effort to sit down together at least once a week for dinner.

Things didn’t change, between them. They still talked easily, they still touched a lot, they still enjoyed each other’s company, and there were still a lot of things unsaid between them, that they were both aware of.

But things changed around them.

Sam was on the Icarus base when it exploded, but she managed to get away before the planet got destroyed. They lost a lot of people, who ended up stranded on an ancient ship called Destiny, who was in god knew which galaxy.

Immediately after that, Sam was called into Washington, to Homeworld Command. She underwent some pretty taxing tests and training, of the mental kind, in preparation of taking over the SGC. She called every night, and she was beyond stressed. But Sam always said that speaking to Daniel before bed helped her sleep easier.

Meanwhile, Daniel was drowning in paperwork, getting started with the Department of Artifacts, Culture and History or, how everyone started calling it, the D.A.C.H. He already knew exactly who will be part of his department, but there was a lot of paperwork involved, and a lot of trips to HR.

Honestly, talking to Sam every night helped him sleep, too.

𝚲

There was a small reprieve in her training, in the form of a mission to the Icarus base.

Thankfully, she managed to get away from the planet before it exploded, but they lost a lot of people. Some of them died, and some of them got stranded on an Ancient ship called Destiny, who was traveling the universe in god knew what Galaxy.

After that, they spoke once in the morning and once in the evening.

𝚲

She came back just in time for Landry to officially give her command of the SCG. There was a small ceremony, some speeches, and Daniel grinning wildly like a mad man.

They had a very late dinner that night, at Daniel’s place. Sam was incredibly happy, but still apprehensive about the amount of work and stress that was in front of her. Daniel said what he could to calm her down, and that, alongside the beer and good food, it seemed to do the job.

‘I know there’s a conversation that we’re meant to have.’, she gently said at one point.

Daniel froze completely, blinking at her with wide eyes. ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’

She threw him a look and went on like he hadn’t said anything. ‘I think I need to postpone that for a while. Just for a little while, until I get a handle on these things.’

In his heart, Daniel felt a pang of pain. But it was an involuntary response, and it was gone quickly, because he knew Sam. He knew how her brain worked, and he knew how her heart worked.

By this point, he had no doubt that she did feel something for him, something more than “you’re my best friend, I’ve known you for over a decade”.

But Daniel also knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that her career was important to her, and the people under her command were very important to her. Sam wanted to do it right, and this thing with Daniel, whatever it was, it would probably be complicated enough to be distracting.

He could wait, though. He’d wait till the end of the world, for Sam. A bit dramatic, even for him, but the truth was he didn’t want anyone else.

It was Sam, or nobody.

So he smiled at her. ‘I still don’t know what you’re talking about, but if I did, I’d probably tell you that I can wait. And that we have bigger fish to fry right now.’

‘Thank you.’, Sam said gently, returning the smile.

And that was the end of that discussion.

𝚲

It went on from there.

Sam, her name and rank on a gold plate, running the SGC.

Daniel, his name on the same old door to the same old office, splitting his days between managerial work and working on the archives.

Sam and Daniel, getting dinner at least once a week.

Daniel, sneaking in her office to steal her good coffee. She was always there, she didn’t mind.

Sam, sneaking in his office when she needed a break. He was always there, he didn’t mind.

Daniel, always asking her opinion when he didn’t know how to handle a situation in the DACH.

Sam, always asking his opinion when there were more sensible issues on a mission regarding different cultures.

People coming to Daniel, asking him to put in a good work with Sam for whatever they needed.

Jack was the first one to say something, at least out loud.

They were on the phone, Daniel was in the middle of explaining something, when Jack cut him off.

‘You know that if you and Carter ever get your heads out of your ass, I’ll be okay with it, right? Hell, Daniel, everyone and their mother will be okay with it.’

It took a few very long moments for Daniel to come up with an answer. And all he managed was a whispered ‘Thanks.’ 

𝚲

Sam kissed him once.

It had been a horrible day, at the end of a bad week. They lost two teams, who got caught by Lucian Alliance members on a planet that hadn’t, yet, been in their hold. The teams were kidnapped, and the Alliance sent video messages to the SGC. With the last message, they sent eight mutilated bodies.

Daniel drove Sam home that night. The sun was starting to come up and she spent the drive silently crying.

He didn’t want to leave her alone that night, so he made his bed on the couch and waited until she showered.

Sam came out wearing flannel pajamas, her wet hair braided down her back. She looked like she hadn’t slept in a decade, but she did smile softly at Daniel.

He hugged her, then, hugged her tightly as he wished her goodnight.

As a response, Sam moved to kiss his cheek. But she missed, caught the corner of his lips.

Except that, when Daniel looked at her, he realized that she hadn’t missed, she had done it very much intentionally.

‘I’m sorry’, Sam lied.

Daniel shook his head, pressed his lips to her forehead. ‘Get some rest. I’ll make you breakfast when you wake up.’

She smiled at him, very grateful.

And nothing else was said on the manner.

𝚲

After that kiss that they never spoke of, it kept getting more and more difficult for Daniel to keep himself in check.

His instincts told him to either confess his undying love for Sam, or grab her and kiss senseless.

But Daniel loved her too much to ruin it, and that was what kept him from doing it.

𝚲

One random Tuesday evening, Daniel knocked on Sam’s office door, planning to take her for a quick dinner.

She said ‘come in’, but she wasn’t alone there. There was an airman with her in the office, and he got in just in time to see something being beamed down to her desk.

It was an odd sort of device, clearly man made, but Daniel did recognize the Ancient communication stones.

‘Eli called.’, Sam told Daniel. ‘From Destiny. He needs to talk to me.’

Then, she turned to the airman. ‘Are you sure?’

‘Yes, ma’am.’

‘I’m not ordering you to do this.’

‘I know, Colonel Carter. It’s fine. I’ve never been to space before.’

The kid was young, and he was grinning wildly.

Sam softened. ‘Don’t touch anything, please. And don’t panic, I don’t know how long this is going to take.’

With a final nod, the kid placed a communication stone on the device.

It was a weird thing to watch. He closed his eyes and when he opened them, Daniel could see the panic in his eyes.

‘Oh, shoot, wait.’, Sam said, rummaging in her drawers for something. She came up with a small handheld mirror, which she pointed at the kid’s head.

‘Okay.’, he said after a moment. ‘I’m okay. Hi, Colonel Carter. I’m Eli, Eli Wallace.’

‘Hi.’, Sam smiled at him. ‘It’s nice to finally meet you. This is Daniel-’

‘Oh!’, his eyes fell on Daniel and they grew wide. ‘Doctor Jackson, wow. It’s so weird to see you in real life.’

‘Excuse me?’

‘Sorry.’, the kid ducked his head. ‘I’ve seen you in the Airforce video, the introduction to the Stargate.’

Daniel was horrified. ‘They’re still showing that? I’m so sorry.’

‘No, it was actually helpful.’, Eli grinned, before turning back to Sam. His face fell. ‘Do you know what’s happening on Destiny right now?’

She shook her head. ‘Not officially. General O’Neil let it slip that everyone’s in pods, except for you. Do you need help fixing the last broken pod?’

‘No, I fixed that on day two.’, Eli waved it off. ‘I need you to check my math.’

Sam seemed surprised by that. ‘From what I’ve heard, you’re better at math that McKay and I combined.’

He chuckled at that, but it was weak.

‘I need you to check my math, please.’, he said again, slower. ‘I’ve been completely alone for a week, I’m going slightly crazy and we might have a chance to come home.’

Sam’s jaw was dropped, and Eli was all but shaking in his boots.

‘Eli.’, Daniel said gently. ‘Do you need someone to check your calculations, or do you need a reality check?’

‘Both.’, he said quickly.

‘Oh, boy.’, Sam said under her breath.

‘How about I bring you some food? And coffee?’, Daniel offered.

‘And whiteboards.’, Sam added. ‘A couple of whiteboards.’

Yeah, Daniel already figured that out.

𝚲

He didn't go home that night. There was absolutely nothing he could do to help Sam and Eli with their work, he didn't understand half of the things they said.

But he reminded them to drink water, have a snack. They didn't want to take breaks, so Daniel asked a question every now and then, something so ridiculously stupid, it usually made them laugh and think about something else for five minutes.

For the first three hours, Eli did most of the talking. After that, he and Sam went over the calculations, together.

Nine hours later, it all ended with Sam saying a soft 'Oh, God.', and Eli exclaiming a loud 'Shit!'

That's when Daniel asked them to explain.

'Destiny has a limited amount of energy, at the moment.', Eli started. 'It's in FTL, traveling to the next galaxy, in hopes of bypassing evil drones that are out to destroy us, that are next to every Stargate planet in our path.'

'Right.', Daniel nodded.

'Also, in our path, is a seed ship. I've managed to hack into its systems-'

'While you're still in FTL?', Daniel cut off. That sounded… impossible.

Eli waved it off like it was nothing. 'The point is, it has some power, and we can steal it. It's not next to a Stargate, so no drones.'

'So, more power. And if you wake everyone else up, even more power.'

'Yes, Eli nodded. And our path, it's going to bring us closest to Earth.'

'You figured out where Destiny is?'

'Yeah.' Again, Eli made it sound like it wasn't important even though Daniel knew how much of a lie that was.

'But it's not enough power to dial Earth, damn it.'

'We're just a hair short.', Sam said sadly. 'Just a little too short.'

Daniel tilted his head. 'If I understood this right, you need more power the further away you dial, right?'

'Yes.', Sam frowned, staring off into the wall.

'I don't think there's anything else closer to us.', Eli said. 'Not anything I know of, anyway.'

'What about the Pegasus galaxy?', Daniel pointed out. 'Atlantis?'

Eli frowned. 'I know what that is, but I don't know where it is.'

Sam took a marker and erased half of a whiteboard, wrote down some equations.

'That's how far Pegasus is from us. In your direction.'

'Are you sure?', Eli asked her.

Sam nodded. 'Positive.'

With that, Eli erased most of the other whiteboards and he started redoing the calculations.

It didn't take long.

'We'd have to do them properly', he whispered, 'run them through a computer-'

'Maybe McKay.', Sam added.

'But it might work.', Eli seemed surprised. 'It might just work.'

'Holy Hannah!', Sam turned towards Daniel. 'You're a genius.'

'No, I just really wanna go back to Atlantis.', he grinned.

Eli collapsed into a chair, started shaking.

'How long have you been awake?', Daniel asked, concerned.

'Oh, about 42 hours.'

Sam instantly switched gears, turning into Colonel Carter. 'You're going to go back and sleep, for at least eight hours. Meanwhile, I'll call General O'Neil and the President, run the math with McKay, double check it on the computers, and coordinate with Atlantis. In eight hours, you'll use the stones again and we'll have a proper plan, by then.'

'Okay.', Eli said gently, running his hands over his face. 'Thank you, Miss.'

Sam softened at that. 'Don't thank me yet. Thank me if this works, and thank me face to face.'

Eli managed to smile at that.

‘And you’re supposed to call her Colonel.’, Daniel whispered.

The kid winced. ‘Sorry, Colonel Carter, I-’

‘You can call me Sam.’, she chuckled at him. ‘And when I see you, the you-you, you better hug me, understood?’

‘Yes, ma’am.’, Eli grinned easily.

After he was gone and they were alone, Sam immediately hugged Daniel.

'You really are a genius.', she whispered. 'If this works, it's…'

'Yeah.', Daniel nodded when she didn't go on. 'Yeah, I know. Are you gonna be okay to do all that you need to do?'

Sam nodded, stopped the hug. She also sweetly kissed his cheek.

'Thanks for the help, Daniel.'

'Anytime.', he said easily. 'But you better tell Jack that I'm going to Atlantis.'

'Yeah, we are.', she grinned. 

𝚲

Daniel drove to his house, quickly packed a bag. Took Thor, left him with one of the nurses, who will make another schedule for keeping the dog while he was away. Then he went to Sam's house, grabbed her already packed bag.

By the time he made it back to the SGC, Sam had already argued with McKay, who reluctantly admitted that the plan would work. Jack was quick to give his approval, and the President didn’t even let Sam finish explaining, he just said ‘If you think it’ll work, do it!’.

So by the time Eli used the stones again, they were all set to go.

But the kid was having doubts.

'If this doesn't work and I wake them all up just to kill them-'

'Won't happen.', Sam cut him off. 'I'm sure this will work, and so is McKay. Colonel O'Neil is excited to see you again.'

Eli snorted. 'Okay. I'll… go wake everyone up.'

'You'll have a little under two hours to pack everything.'

'I already did most of that.'

Sam narrowed her eyes. 'I thought I told you to sleep.'

'I did, for about an hour.', Eli smiled. 'Also, just so you know, this past week, I've been copying everything I could on laptops and hard drives. I didn't manage to get everything, but I got 80% of Destiny's database. So… this wouldn't have been for nothing.'

Sam sighed at that, deeply, gently touching the kid's shoulder. 'Come on. Let's get you home.'

With a shaking hand, Eli disconnected the stones.

Sam and Daniel shared a long look. They didn’t need words, to know what they were saying, so wordlessly, they headed to the Stargate.

𝚲

The plan was this: Destiny will dial to Atlantis, but they won’t be staying there. Immediately after arriving, they will be beamed up on the General Hammond, who just happened to be pretty close to Atlantis.

They will spend three weeks on the ship, on their way back to Earth.

They could have used the Stargate, but all the medical staff that Sam spoke to thought that the crew will need a break. On one hand, mentally: to get used to the idea that they were actually going home and, on the other hand, physically: malnutrition was a big concern, and the three weeks of quarantine will be a good idea.

Sam and Daniel will be joining them on the Hammond, which he was kind of excited about. It will be a bit of a break, he will be able to talk to the people on Destiny and Cam was in charge of the ship, it’ll be nice to see him.

‘Ready?’, Sam asked before they stepped through the Stargate.

Daniel grinned at him. ‘It’ll be a party.’

𝚲

John was in charge of Atlantis nowadays, and he actually hugged both Sam and Daniel, made them promise to visit soon, for longer than an hour.

He didn’t know much about Destiny, but he was eager to help.

They had a little time before Destiny was set to dial in, so they caught up with the people of Atlantis. Sam spent most of the time with Teyla’s son in her arms, and Daniel felt a storm brewing up in his stomach, but he pushed it down. Mostly.

At the scheduled time, Sam was a ball of nerves, and Daniel wasn’t doing any better. Their shoulders were pressed together, and John was giving them an amused look that they both ignored. 

When the gate started dialing, Sam grabbed his hand, very tightly. Neither of them breathed, not until the wormhole formed.

‘Holy Hannah.’, Sam breathed out. ‘It worked.’

‘Drop the shield!’, John yelled.

Nobody stepped through the gate, but a metal ball came through. A camera, Daniel remembered hearing about it.

‘Holy shit!’, a voice came out of it. ‘Holy shit, it worked.’

That was probably Eli.

‘Yes, it did.’, Sam said urgently. ‘Now come on, step through the gate, and once you’re through, please don’t stop. Keep the flow going.’

‘Come on, guys!’, they heard Eli yell. ‘You heard the lady!’

People started coming through. People, looking with wide eyes at Atlantis, everyone carrying at least a backpack and a bag. They all seemed shocked and on the verge of tears, but they didn’t stop, making sure there was room for everyone else to come through.

First, came the civilians. Then, came the military personnel. Then, at the end, Colonel Young and Rush. The last person who came through was Eli. Who was wearing a red shirt that said ‘You are here’. Daniel tried really, really hard not to laugh.

After the gate shut down, everyone turned to stare at Daniel, Sam and John.

‘Welcome to Atlantis.’, John said. ‘You’re not staying.’

Sam took over, introduced them and she started explaining about the Hammond and why they weren’t rushing back to Earth. There were some people who started arguing against it, one of them went as far as asking Sam ‘Who the hell are you to make that decision?’.

Eli cut the man off. ‘She runs the SGC, asshole. And you wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for her, so shut up!.’

‘Thank you, Eli.’, Sam smiled at him. ‘But beyond that, now that you are here, your physical and mental health are top priority. Three weeks of quarantine and the best medical technology Azgard has to offer felt like the way to go. Also’, she took a deep breath, ‘your families will be notified. While on the Hammon, you’ll be able to send a video message home and you will have three weeks to figure out what you’re going to tell them when you see them.’

Everyone shut up at that.

‘Colonel Carter’, Young said gently, ‘let’s go. We’re ready.’

Sam turned to John, thanked him again. Daniel touched his earpiece. ‘We’re ready, Cam. Beam us up, Scotty!’

Eli cackled at that, real loud.

𝚲

Once on the Hammond, there was chaos. People were ushered to quarters, but there was a schedule made for visits to the Infirmary, and the Destiny medic indicated people who needed to go there asap. People were crying and laughing and yelling. It was a mess, but everyone was clearly happy.

In the chaos of it all, Sam made her way to Eli. He wasn’t shaking anymore, he was just staring at his feet, seemingly in shock.

Sam gently touched his shoulder and smiled at him.

‘Congratulations, Eli. You did it.’

‘Yeah.’, he looked at her with wide, shiny eyes. ‘Fuck.’

Sam snorted. ‘If I remember correctly, you’re supposed to give me something.’

He nodded and promptly started crying. Sam froze, but only for a moment. She was pretty quick to wrap her arms around Eli’s shoulders and bring him in for a hug. He really did look like a kid, right then, crying his heart out in Sam’s arms, clearly trying to pull himself together but not able to do so.

‘You’re amazing.’, Sam told him softly. ‘Don’t ever let anybody tell you otherwise, you hear me? You did this, Eli. You brought all these people home, so. You know what? Cry all you want, now. But after that, be proud of yourself. Because we all are, so proud of you.’

Colonel Young was watching all this with a small smile on his face, Rush was pointedly not looking at them, but was clearly listening in. And there were two other people close by, a young man and a young woman, he was a Lieutenant. They were holding hands and she was crying, but they were both smiling.

‘Thanks, Sam.’, Eli finally said, stepping out of the hug.

The young woman was quick to all but tackle Eli from one side, and the Lieutenant hugged him from the other. It was a violent thing to watch, but they were all laughing, and crying, and clearly, they were happy kids.

Colonel Young laughed seeing them, laughed loudly. But after he calmed down, he came to their side, and shook Sam’s hand.

‘I don’t know how you made this happen, but-’

‘I didn’t.’, she cut him off. ‘It was Eli’s idea, I just called the people I needed to and did a little therapy on him.’

‘Thank you.’, Young said seriously. ‘Really, thank you.’

'Trust me when I tell you that it was my pleasure. Now come on, sir. It's nap time.'

'I've been asleep for a week.', he pointed out.

'And you still look like you need a nap.', Sam grinned.

Young rolled his eyes, but he nodded and went away.

Sam turned to Daniel, grinning wildly, just as over 60 people, who had spent the last year aboard an Ancient ship in an unknown part of the Universe, started chanting Eli's name, clapping and yelling. The Hammond was filled with sounds of happiness and relief, and Sam and Daniel were caught right in the middle of it.

It was very infexious.

'I love that kid.', Sam said.

'I love you.', Daniel said.

She grinned wildly, kissing his cheek and hugging him. Daniel felt very happy, in that moment, and for the next three weeks, he clinged onto that memory.

𝚲

Daniel ended up sharing a bunk on the Hammond with Eli.

The kid didn't sleep a lot, so they usually spent most of the night awake, talking about Destiny's adventures.

It was impressive, the amount of shit they went through and survived. Somehow, miraculously so, they survived.

Daniel grew very fond of Eli, and he was set on helping him out in life. He told Sam this, and she was quick to agree. Apparently, she had already discussed it with Jack and the President. After they landed on Earth, Eli would have a job lined up, wherever he wanted, be it SGC, Atlantis, Area 51 or any of the ships. They didn't tell him that, though, not yet. He needed to calm down before making any sort of commitment.

During the day, Daniel was either in the mess, socializing with the Destiny crew and Sam, or in the very corner of the mess, a laptop in front of him, looking through the data they had brought.

It was a very nice three weeks, but he was glad to be back home.

Home, with Thor demanding attention. Home, having coffee with Sam every morning and dinner every other day. Home, in his office at the SGC, surrounded by history and artifacts.

Daniel realized that he was happy with his life. Where he was now, what he was doing, after everything he went through with SG1… Daniel was content and happy.

There was only one thing missing.

One thing. Small thing. Actually a very big thing.

And he had no idea how to go along to make it happen, because it was Sam's decision and he made his stand clear.

… Didn’t he?

𝚲

‘How much do you love me?’ were not words Daniel expected to hear in his office very late one night. And yet, he was pretty sure that was what he heard, and he was pretty sure he knew that voice.

Turning around, yes, it was Sam, grinning wildly and excitedly at him.

‘That depends on what you’re about to ask me to do.’, Daniel narrowed his eyes.

‘Go on vacation with me.’

His jaw dropped at that in surprise.

‘I got us three days off and I tried to get Atlantis, but Jack wouldn’t have it. Not now, anyway, he said maybe for Christmas.’

Daniel snorted at that, but he didn’t hesitate. ‘And where are we going?’

‘I was going to suggest something like the Grand Canyon or Vegas, but… I’m tired.’, Sam admitted.

‘We're going fishing, then?’

She seemed relieved by that. ‘Yeah, let’s go fishing.’

𝚲

They left around noon the next day. Sam drove, kept a steady line of chatter all through the drive. At the grocery store, she was in charge, clearly having planned all their future meals. Daniel was glad to see some cooking chocolate, flour and sugar in there. 

Once they got to the cabin, though, Daniel did help her cook. Just as they were about to take it all outside, it started raining, downright pouring. It felt like deja-vu.

So they set the table inside, made a fire and moved the table next to it.

Daniel felt… very relaxed.

Once again, he couldn’t help but think of the way his life turned out. It was rough there, at the start, and the years he had spent with SG1 had been a rollercoaster of crazy, that changed Daniel in more ways that he could count.

And yet, somehow, by nothing short of a miracle, he managed to survive. Not only that, but he liked the person he was now, and he liked the way his life was.

He loved his job, even if it involved more report writing than offworlding, these days. He had a routine, he had a nice apartment, he had Thor. He had good friends who would help in a heartbeat, friends who checked in often, even if they were a few offices down, a few miles away, or in another galaxy. 

And he had Sam.

After he lost Sha’re, Daniel didn’t think he’d ever be able to fall in love with anyone else. But looking at Sam right then, across the table from him, talking about the long strings of texts she had exchanged with Eli, he thought that there was no way he wasn’t going to feel this was about her.

He couldn’t quantify, if he loved Sam or Sha’re more, it was a ridiculous thing to think about. But Daniel knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he loved Sam with all his heart. And he may be able to fall out of love with her, if the situation called for it, but he didn’t want to do it.

He wanted to be with Sam, wanted them to try and actually be a normal couple. Well, as normal as they could be, working for the SGC. It was either that, or to continue being her best friend.

Daniel would be fine with that, but he’d prefer the other option.

Either way, the important thing was keeping close to Sam, and keeping his mouth shut about his feelings. He could handle it.

Probably.

𝚲

After dinner, they went out on the porch. It wasn’t raining anymore, but there was a chill in the air. Daniel put on his jacket, Sam wrapped herself up in a fluffy blanket.

She was sitting on a chair, knees to her chest, listening to Daniel talking about an interesting discovery he found in video footage brought back by SG31.

One moment, she was watching him with a small smile on her face, indulgent in nature, the next moment Sam looked like she was getting ready for battle.

Daniel stopped his babble, frowning.

‘What’s wrong?’

She didn’t say anything, kept looking at him strongly, but with a quiver in her bottom lip.

‘Sam?’, he was getting concerned.

One moment, she was blinking at him, the next moment she jumped off the chair. She jumped at Daniel, grabbed his cheeks and kissed him.

Sam pressed her lips strongly to his, but only for a moment. It was enough to make him hold his breath and it was enough to make him question the reality of the moment.

When she pulled back, she didn’t take her hands away from his cheeks, and he felt them shaking.

Sam was looking at him softly, with hesitance. Clearly, she was waiting for something.

Daniel swallowed thickly, thought very hard about what his next words were going to be.

‘Are you sure?’

Idiot thing to say, but he had to. He had to know if she was sure, if she really wanted this, wanted to start this with him. Because if she wasn’t… Daniel couldn’t take it.

Slowly, Sam took her hands off his face and took a few small steps back.

‘I’ve been sure for a while, now.’, she said gently. ‘I just needed to figure things out.’

Daniel bit on his tongue to keep quiet, because Sam wasn’t done.

She took a deep breath and relaxed, sitting back down on the chair and wrapping the blanket around her shoulders.

Then, she smiled at him.

‘Everything has always been more important than this. When I was in school, it was studying. Then I joined the military, and that came first. Then, there was SG1 and defending the planet. I did try, with Pete, but… I wasn’t sold on it. That’s why it didn’t work, because I wasn’t ready.’

Another deep breath. ‘Then, there was Atlantis. There, I… I missed you so much, Daniel. I missed you more than I should have.’

‘Me too.’, Daniel whispered.

It made Sam smile again. ‘It got me thinking, and I realized that…’

‘What?’, he asked when she didn’t go on. ‘What did you realize?’

‘That you and I could work. And that I want it.’

Despite the kiss, Daniel was still surprised to hear her say it.

Sam looked away for a moment, and then went on.

‘There was always something more important than my love life, and even after I came back from Atlantis, that was true. But I run the SGC now, and I’m stopping here. There wasn’t, there isn’t that excuse anymore.’

‘But-’

‘No.’, she cut him off. ‘I’m not settling on Earth for you, and you haven’t settled on Earth for me.’

Daniel nodded. ‘No, I haven’t. I did it for me.’

‘So did I. And I’m happier than I’ve been in a long time.’

‘Yeah, me too.’, he admitted.

‘But I’m lonely.’, Sam went on in a shaky voice. ‘And because of the way I feel about you, it’s the worst it has ever been. And… What makes it worse, is that I think you feel the same way about me.’

If Daniel would have only heard her speak, he wouldn’t have believed her. His personal insecurities would have stopped him from believing Sam. But he did believe her, because he saw the way she was looking at him.

Sam was looking at him the same way she had been looking ever since he visited her on Atlantis: with love. 

‘I’ve been waiting for you.’, Daniel breathed out. ‘You said you needed time, so I’ve been waiting.’

‘Thanks for that.’, Sam smiled a little.

‘Look, I... ‘

It was difficult for him to explain, but he needed to do it. He owed it to her, and he wanted Sam to know where he stood. So he took a deep breath and made a point to look at her.

‘For a long time, I didn’t think I’ll be able to fall in love with someone else again. But then you and I got closer, right before Atlantis, and I just-’

‘Started thinking about it?’, she interrupted him with a smirk.

‘I didn’t need to think about it, I just started feeling it.’

That surprised her, and it made her blush, a little.

‘I know you, I knew you needed to think about it, so I waited. But I… Honestly, it doesn’t really feel like I’ve been waiting for you. Cause it’s-’, he shrugged, ‘it’s either you or nobody.’

Sam’s jaw actually dropped as a response to that.

‘That’s a lot, Daniel.’, she whispered.

He smirked, trying to relax and calm his heart down. ‘Yeah, it is. But you just kissed me in the middle of me talking about Mesopotapian burial rights. Come on, Sam. After all we’ve been through together, I think we’re past the… first date jitters. I’m pretty sure you’ve seen me naked already.’

‘Daniel!’, her cheeks were bright red. Sam’s indignation only lasted for a moment, before she started laughing.

He joined her, chuckling along, and after they calmed down, they just looked at each other for a while, smiling.

Daniel took a deep breath and opened his arms. ‘Come here.’, he said gently, and Sam was quick to listen. She didn’t leave her blanket behind, but she did come and stand in front of him.

At first, all that he did was hug her. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, made sure the blanket was still enveloping her, and hugged her. Sam pushed her cheek to his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his waist.

She hummed a little, which was a ridiculously cute sound that made him grin, so he hugged her some more.

𝚲

All the anxiety Sam had felt that day had disappeared completely as soon as she was in Daniel's arms.

Holy Hannah, she felt so relieved. It took a lot out of her, to take this step, to build up the courage to kiss him.

She could have planned it better, she would have, but he looked so good in that moment, talking about the things he loved, dressed in comfortable clothes, smiling at her.

Sam didn't think, she just listened to her instinct and kissed him. She thought after, thought about what she needed to tell him.

He understood, and he felt the same way.

She was very happy, in that moment. As she took a deep breath and pushed her face deeper into the fabric of Daniel's sweater, she felt the happiest she had ever been.

'Hey.', he whispered gently, grabbing the back of her neck.

Sam looked up, looked into his eyes and smiled.

He whispered her name, an unspoken question there. She didn't answer with words, she just closed her eyes and waited.

When Daniel kissed her, it was a lot smoother than the surprise attack she underwent before.

Daniel kissed her without hurry, without desperation. It was sweet and kind, but the hand that was on her neck was holding her firmly, and the arm wrapped around her shoulders wasn't going to let go anytime soon.

She was okay with that. She was more than okay with that.

So Sam grabbed at the back of his jacket, bit on his lower lip and opened her mouth.

𝚲

Daniel had no idea how much time they stood there, on the porch, making out like there was no tomorrow.

All that he knew was Sam. The way she felt in his arms, the way she tasted, the way her hands had snuck up under his sweater and met skin, the way she shivered every time his fingers ran through her hair.

They had to stop, eventually, when breathing became difficult.

Her cheeks were red, her hair was rumpled, the blanket was on the ground and it was one of the most beautiful things Daniel had ever seen.

'What now?', he asked, wanting to figure out what will happen next. Do they tell people? Do they hide it at the SGC?

Sam grinned. 'How about we watch a movie?'

Right. They could figure that out later. He grabbed her hand and together, they went back inside.

𝚲

They snuggled together all throughout the first movie. For the second one, Sam's legs were in his lap and they struggled to keep awake for the end of it.

There was a question on the tip of Daniel's tongue, but he thought it would be rude for him to voice it, considering they had just gotten together four hours ago.

Sam answered anyway, with a smile and a quick kiss.

'I am going to sleep tonight, a lot, and you're free to join me.'

So he went with her, of course he did. And they really did sleep a lot that night, but they also kissed some more before falling asleep.

𝚲

The next three days were a surreal experience that Daniel had never been through before. But, to be fair, he had never gotten together with such an old friend.

Being with Sam, in such close quarters for 24/7, it was ridiculously easy.

In all his past relationships, there were awkward moments, especially at the start of them. There was none of that with Sam.

They were comfortable around one another, so they didn’t care. Not about how they looked in the morning, not about making a fool out of themselves. They didn’t care about what they said, they didn’t need to impress the other person. There was no hesitation to share a bed, no expectation for more.

It was surprising, how easy being with Sam was.

Comparing it with the last time they were at the cabin, it was mostly the same experience, but with the added bonus of kisses, gentle touches and a lot more grins.

Daniel was incredibly happy and by the looks of things, so was Sam.

𝚲

He waited until the last night to ask about what came next.

After they turned off the lights and Sam was settled in his arms, Daniel asked what the plan was for the SGC.

‘Because you’re a civilian, we’re not obligated to report our relationship. I don’t think I want to hide, though. With what a gossip everyone is, the secret wouldn’t last a week.’

‘Agreed.’, Daniel was quick to say. ‘What about our friends?’

‘I’ll tell Jack, you’ll tell Cam. We can record a video for Teal’c.’

‘Okay.’

She must have heard something in his voice, because Sam sighed. 

‘Daniel, Jack’s going to be okay with it.’

‘Oh, I know, he told me so.’, he snorted. ‘I was just thinking about the amount of shit everyone’s going to give us about it.’

Sam grinned at him, somehow snuggled deeper into his hold. ‘I don’t care.’

‘Fair enough.’, Daniel smiled. If she ended up in his arms at the end of the day, not much else mattered, not really.

She kissed him then, long and unhurried, effectively making him forget what they were even talking about.

𝚲

The bliss lasted for two more days after they went back to work.

Then, John Sheppard showed up through the gate, saying the last thing he remembered was getting captured by wraith, waking up next to a Stargate and dialing Atlantis.

Not only that, but they couldn't dial Atlantis, for reasons unknown.

And, because bad news always came in threes, they caught wind of an attack the Lucian Alliance were planning on Homeworld Command. Again.

Daniel was put in charge of two things. One, take care of John's sanity and stop him from stealing a ship and flying to Atlantis. Two: talk to the Lucian Alliance members that were on the Destiny, figure out if they knew anything.

The second job took no time at all, because there were few people he had to talk to, and they've spent the past months on the Destiny. They didn't know anything.

The first job was virtually impossible.

John was panicking, pretty badly. Not because he had a lot of time he didn't remember, but because he couldn't get back to Atlantis and because Homeworld Command being threatened was a bigger priority at that moment.

While Daniel understood him completely, he also wanted to punch him in the face, because John was more than ready to hijack a ship and fly it to Pegasus.

In a desperate attempt to calm him down, Daniel suggested to Sam that maybe John could join the crew of the Hammond, help with the fight from there.

Sam was quick to allow it, and John threw Daniel a confused look, but he took his leave and got beamed up.

And that was when it all went to Hell.

𝚲

The intel was wrong. The Lucian Alliance wasn't targeting Homeworld Command, they were targeting the SGC.

Cam, up on Hammond, saw the bomb fall and he was able to send the message to Sam. She managed to push the commands that would lift up the compound's defences, a recently installed Asgard shield that should have enveloped the entire mountain.

But the bomb hit before the shield was fully formed. Daniel didn't think the entire compound was damaged, but the part he was in sure was.

He had been on his way to the surface, in the elevator. In the end, it was probably a good thing, because the elevator was sturdy. So even if the building around him collapsed, Daniel survived.

He was trapped in the goddamn elevator.

There were no lights on. He couldn't hear anything. The radio was down, he couldn't tell anyone he was alive. He couldn't tell them where he was.

There was no new air coming in, he could feel the air he breathed getting thin.

His wrist hurt, from when he had fallen on it on his way down, and he was bleeding from his forehead.

Obviously, he didn't have any water or food and, of course, he missed the last couple of meals.

Daniel was in pain, succumbed in darkness and silence and… he was afraid.

𝚲

Later, they told him he spent 17 hours in the elevator.

Because of the darkness, because of the silence and because of the unknown of not knowing if there was anybody coming for him, it felt like weeks for Daniel.

He didn't remember much from those 17 hours, because there was not much to remember, nothing except for total darkness and the fear in his soul.

But he will always remember the moment he was saved.

It was a well known feeling by now, getting beamed up by Azgard technology.

When he opened his eyes, he was in a room he could barely make the outline of. It was dark, like the elevator, but there was a single candle lit. It still hurt his eyes.

He groaned, closing them quickly.

When he felt someone touching his cheek, he panicked because he couldn't see who it was.

Someone said his name, but it hurt his ears.

He panicked something horrible, backed away until his back hit a wall. In his confusion, he found himself sitting on the ground.

'Daniel', someone whispered, 'it's Sam.'

He gasped, blindly reaching for her. Warm fingers wrapped around his, and she whispered his name again.

'I'm here, you're okay. You'll be okay. Are you hurt?'

He nodded. 'Wrist's broken, head injury, sensory deprivation, my head’s killing me and… I'm scared.'

Daniel felt the tiniest bit better, now that he knew she was there, but he couldn't see her, and hearing her hurt him and it was still dark.

With a deep breath and slow movements, Sam wrapped her arms around him. She kissed him, gently, and that, it was familiar and it calmed him down, a little.

Daniel kind of collapsed in her arms, relaxed for the first time since the bomb went off.

'Doctor Lam gave me a sedative for you.', Sam said gently. 'I think you should use it.'

He nodded and Sam was quick and clinical with injecting him with it.

But she kissed him again, gently on the corner of his mouth, and promised to be there when he woke up.

𝚲

When Daniel woke up, his head didn’t feel like it was exploding anymore. He opened his eyes, and the light didn’t hurt him. He felt glasses on his nose, they were probably sunglasses, but they did help. Hiis wrist was in a plastic cast, but it was a dull pain, easily ignored.

Someone said his name, and it didn’t hurt his ears.

John Sheppard was lounging on the chair next to his bed.

'Morning, sunshine.'

Daniel frowned at him. 'What happened?'

'You were trapped in an elevator for 17 hours.'

'I know that, thanks.', Daniel deadpanned. 'What happened besides that?'

'Five others hurt, two dead. We blew up all the Lucian Alliances ships.'

'Good. What about-'

John cut him off, by raising a finger. He made his way to the closest phone and picked it up.

'Colonel Carter to the Infirmary, please.'

Daniel was grateful for that, but he didn't say it out loud.

'What about Atlantis?'

'They can dial out, nobody can dial in. Some weird safety mechanism. McKay is working on it and Eli is helping.'

'Eli… is on Atlantis?'

'No, Eli is here.', John smirked. 'I like the kid, but I have a feeling he's gonna stick around here, rather than Pegasus.'

Daniel returned the smirk. He was about to say that Eli probably likes Sam better than John, but he didn't get to, because she barged into the Infirmary.

She didn't run, but she did power walk right to Daniel's bed side, where she kind of hip-checked John to push him out of the way.

Sam kissed Daniel, grabbed his cheeks and strongly pressed her lips to his. The glasses he was wearing almost fell off with the force of it.

Once again, Daniel felt safe and incredibly relieved, with just that one kiss.

He hummed, when she pulled back, smiled happily at her.

'Are you okay?', she asked.

Daniel nodded. 'I'll be fine, probably.'

She huffed. 'There's physical therapy in your future, for your broken wrist, and the other type of therapy, on account that sensory deprivation is a form of torture.'

He nodded again. 'I figured as much.'

'Also', she rolled her eyes, 'everyone found out about us.'

Daniel took a moment to digest that. Then, he shrugged. 'Less work for us.'

Sam snorted, gave him another quick kiss.

'I gotta go back to work, but I'll drive you home when Dr. Lam lets you leave.'

Again, he nodded. 'Is Eli staying?'

Sam's eyes twinkled in excitement. 'He's thinking about it. He'd have to convince his mom to move here, but I think he'll try.'

'Awesome.', Daniel grinned. 'That's awesome.'

She kissed his cheek this time, told him to stay out of trouble and glared strongly at John before leaving.

Daniel turned to the other man with a frown. 'What did you do?'

John smiled innocently, completely fake. 'After seeing how desperate she was those 17 hours, I called you Mr. Carter.'

Daniel grabbed the closest thing to him, a fruit cup, and threw it at John's head. He just cackled on his way out.

𝚲

Sam did drive him home, but she didn't leave afterwards.

She walked Thor while he took a long shower, and she made dinner. There wasn't a lot to choose from, in Daniel's fridge and pantry, but mac and cheese was good enough. 

After that, Daniel felt absolutely exhausted, so he collapsed in bed. He watched, absently, as Sam rummaged through his drawers, pulled out a pair of briefs and a sleeping shirt.

Again, he was hit with just how normal it was. They’ve been together for all of six days, and it didn’t feel weird at all, to see her wearing his sleeping clothes and getting into his bed.

She was gentle, mindful of his cast, but she did snuggle up to him.

‘Thanks.’, Daniel said softly.

‘Anytime. But, you know, I thought with this whole staying on Earth thing, we’d be safer.’

Daniel snorted. ‘We are safer, but not totally safe.’

She sighed, deeply, pushed her cheek to his chest. ‘I didn’t like it when we didn’t know where you were. I almost panicked.’

‘You really should be used to it, by now.’

Sam slapped his chest. ‘Don’t joke.’

‘How did you find me, anyway?’

‘We knew where you were, ish, we just didn’t know how to get to you through all the rubble and metal. Eli helped with that.’

‘Of course he did. I’ll have to thank him.’

She hummed, and they were silent for long enough for Daniel to start falling asleep.

‘Jack figured it out on his own.’, Sam said without any infliction in her voice, and he was wide awake again.

‘He did?’

‘Surprisingly enough, yeah. I called him twice, once right after the explosion to tell him what happened, and again after we got you back.’

‘And he figured it out on his own?’

‘Mhm, I didn’t tell him anything. But, I’ll admit, I was… affected.’, Sam gulped. ‘And considering how well he knows me…’

‘Yeah.’, Daniel nodded. ‘Yeah, of course he figured it out.’

‘You know what he told me?’

‘Either something idiotic, or something oddly insightful.’

Sam chuckled at that. ‘Both, actually. He said that he was glad we got our heads out of our asses-’

Daniel snorted.

‘And that it was better late than never.’

His laughter died down at that, because it was true.

Sam and Jack, they were always late to getting together, to the point where it never happened. With Daniel, yeah it happened late. Late in their relationship, late in their lives, late after they started having romantic feelings for each other.

But it happened. And it was amazing, that it happened, that they had gotten together.

‘Better late than never.’, Daniel whispered. ‘Sam? I’m so happy that it’s not never.’

She moved then, lifted her head so that she could look at him. Slowly, Sam smiled. It was a soft smile, a beautiful smile, and it made the love Daniel felt for her explode in his chest.

‘Whatever happens next’, he went on, ‘I’m really happy right now.’

First, Sam kissed him. Soft and steady, like they had all the time in the world. Then, she smiled at him, looked into his eyes and said ‘I love you.’

Daniel’s jaw dropped, and he couldn’t help but feel incredulous. ‘We’ve been dating for a week!’

Sam shrugged. ‘Yup. So what? I was too late to tell you that, once.’

Yes, once, the first time Daniel died. He kissed her this time, just a quick press of lips.

‘I love you, too.’, Daniel said against her lips. ‘But I’m going to pass out in a minute, so I’ll show you how much in the morning.’

‘Okay.’, Sam grinned. She kissed him chasetly and settled back against the bed, settled in his hold.

Daniel almost fell asleep, when Thor started whining on the other side of the locked door. Sam wordlessly got up and let the dog in.

Surprisingly enough, Thor didn’t jump up into bed immediately, like he usually did. Instead, the dog waited for Sam to get under the covers, and only after that, did Thor jump and got comfortable, sprawled on their legs.

‘This is new.’, Daniel pointed out. 

‘This is nice.’, Sam argued.

‘I think Thor likes you more than he likes me.’

‘Probably. But that’s okay, cause I like you more than I like Thor.’

The dog barked then, very softly.

‘Most days.’, Sam amended.

He pouted, which made her move. She disrupted Thor in order to throw a leg over Daniel’s, snuggling even deeper in his hold. He wasn’t that jealous of his dog, as it turned out.

𝚲

In the morning, Daniel walked Thor before Sam woke up. He brought some breakfast on his way back and woke Sam up with coffee in bed.

He doesn’t exactly know how that evolved to having lazy sex filled with bad jokes and another round of ridiculously sappy love declarations as they were catching their breath, but Daniel didn’t fight it, nor did he regret it. Not one bit.

Half-way through breakfast, the SGC called. Apparently Eli managed to find a solution for dialing Atlantis, and Sheppard was threatening to kidnap him on his way back.

Sam went back to work, wearing one of Daniel’s shirts and yesterday’s pants.

He went back to bed, feeling tired, sore, a little smug and maybe, just maybe, the happiest he has ever been in his life.


End file.
